Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 209
"This is a gift from Jane Fonda. It's a signed photo of herself. I heard that you were not satisfied with her role in 'Returning'. She specifically asked me to tell you that she will return in the next movie 'Golden Pond'. Abandoning traditional American values, being a traditional daughter and wife."

After the meal, the three of them drank tea around the TV. Ronald took out an envelope and handed it to Aunt Karen.

"Oh, really?" Aunt Karen opened the envelope, took out a signed photo, and found that there was her name on it, which was specially signed by Jane Fonda for her. "What story does her new movie tell?"

"It's a story about a daughter reconciling with her parents. The family is in a lake house. The daughter, father, grandson, three generations understand the conflict and feel the warmth of the family again. It's with her father, Henry Fonda, and Katharine Hepburn. played together."

The more Aunt Karen looked at the gift, the more she was satisfied. "Jane looks like a good wife and mother. She should play more roles of this kind. Acting with her own father is also very good."

"It's the first time I've received a gift from a big star, and I have to give her a gift back. What do you think I should give a star?"

Ronald was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect that Aunt Karen really regarded it as a gift from ordinary people, and there was still some generation gap between him and her.But it's not too good to tell some unsightly truths now.

"Actually, the biscuits you baked are the best, but the long-distance transportation is afraid of moisture, and they are not as delicious as freshly baked."

"Yeah, if she comes to our house, I'll bake her cookies." Aunt Karen put the photo back into the envelope and put it away carefully, "What do you think I gave her two pairs of leg warmers that I knitted myself?" Like? I read interviews in magazines that Jane Fonda can dance ballet too."

"Really? I didn't expect my aunt to be a fan of Jane Fonda." Ronald thought to himself, "No wonder she played the role of the cheating military wife in Ronggui, and my aunt was so angry. The star I liked played the same role as myself, It turned out not to be a good one.”

"This is a good idea. After the leg warmer business opens, you won't be able to knit it yourself, Auntie."

"Yeah, now my friends from the Veteran's Club are weaving, and I can give them more income. I can't compete with them. But the quality of my weaving is better than theirs." Aunt Karen happily took out Two pairs of leg warmers, one long and one short, both in purple.

"I was planning to give it to your daughter... hey, forget it, let's not talk about it." Aunt Karen handed Ronald the leg warmers, "I wrote a letter to Jane and told her that I liked the plot of her new movie very much and hope At that time, we can see her wonderful performance with her father Henry on the same stage." As she spoke, she went to the drawer, took out a pen and paper, and began to write letters to her idol.

Although Aunt Karen was born in the late 40s, she still has some old-fashioned styles.The generation that was born before America officially participated in World War II and experienced the Great Depression as a child is called the "silent generation".

And at that time, telephones were not yet popular, so we had the habit of keeping in touch with close friends.

"I'm afraid I have to find her agent before the gift can actually be delivered to Jane Fonda. But it is a unique gift, and Jane should not receive it very often. It just so happens that she is not doing aerobic yoga. What the fuck?"

"Huh?" Ronald remembered that Jane Fonda seemed to be filming some kind of video tape, and maybe he could get an advertisement.

"I'm going to call my agent," Ronald said.

"Mr. Nisita, I'm Ronald. My aunt Karen is a fan of Miss Jane Fonda. She was very happy to see the autographed photo that Jane gave her and wanted to give a gift in return.  … Yes, herself Knitted with wool, Jane can use it when she does yoga in the winter... well, thank you for your help."

"My agent promised to communicate with Jane's agent, and I'll deliver the leg warmers to her." Ronald came over to claim credit for his aunt.

"Okay, Ronnie. Here's a letter from me." Aunt put together a sealed letter and leg warmers and handed it to Ronald.

Back in his apartment, Ronald started to revise the script again, removing the civil rights of the 60s and the background of the Vietnam War. The story of the sequel to "Grease" seemed very flat, not much different from the original.

The 50s was a golden age for America. After the war, the European economy was depressed, and many daily industrial products were made in America.At that time, children from ordinary families could find a blue-collar job with a good income even if they failed to pass the college entrance examination.

So those children in the original work did not go to college, but became car repairers, gas station workers, and makeup artists, and they could earn enough money to buy a house in the city and live with their high school classmates. Get married and have kids without worry.

But now it is the 80s, and blue-collar workers with manual labor are no longer respected by society, and those who work in fast food chains like McDonald's are teenagers.

Young people have no resonance with these jobs at all. They just want to earn some pocket money and don't want to be blue-collar workers for the rest of their lives.On the contrary, they all hope to have enough education, be able to find a job in an office, pay social security, and then buy a house in the suburbs, and live with people of the same income and social class. This is the new generation of the American dream. .

Thinking of this, Ronald became even more worried.He threw away the original script, and the red pencil that marked it.

Ronald feels that if the story of the original work is simply repeated like this, the box office may not be very satisfactory.Although the box office of a movie has little to do with the screenwriter, if you can write a movie with a good box office, you can also get bonuses as a screenwriter and have the opportunity to direct your own movie.

"Grease" is a well-known Hollywood musical, which was staged on Broadway for five or six years before it was remade into a movie.Many young people in small towns who did not have the opportunity to watch live on Broadway in New York can enjoy classic Broadway musicals at a ticket price of three or four dollars. In 1978, it was a very cost-effective thing.

But sending them to a sequel movie with a largely similar plot?

And the sequel hasn't gone through the continuous polishing of Broadway like the original, and has lost the heroes and heroines of Travolta and Olivia?I am afraid that not many people will go there.

Ronald opened the windows of the apartment to let in the fresh air and help himself to think.

And today's teenagers are not so yearning for Broadway musicals.Ronald remembered his cousin Donna, and Diane Lane, both expressing disdain for Broadway musicals.

They want to see the real thing, and "Grease," a drama that strips away all the hardships and hardships of life and leaves only the romantic imagination, no longer appeals to teenagers.

The era always has its imprint, and it will leave traces in the works of art of that time.People at the time may not have felt it, but when they look at it decades later, they will strongly feel a trend of thought of the times.

1965 marked the end of the baby boom generation.The first batch of babies born after the baby boom are already 15 years old, and they are just about to enter high school. They are also the biggest potential audience for the "Grease" sequel.

Will they really love "grease" tones the way the teens at the end of the boomer generation did two years ago?
The baby boomers are all grown up.From 1965 onwards, that is, cousins ​​Donna, Diane Lane, and Brooke Shields' new generation of audiences, what kind of movies will they like?

Ronald put these unanswered questions aside, closed the window, and went to the desk again.

The sequel of "Grease" is still a romantic comedy. Since it is a romantic drama, it is necessary to create some contradictions between the male and female protagonists, so that the two are separated by contradictions, and finally get married after overcoming the contradictions.

First of all, the most common parental factor in romantic comedy must be excluded.Romeo and Juliet-style family obstacles do not exist in the "Grease" universe. The background is all in high school stories. It is impossible for parents to prevent men and women from being together.

The adoption of the original work is a social contradiction, or in the context of the campus, it is a contradiction between different student classes.The most powerful group of people in the school is not the nerd Geek with the best academic performance, nor the sports with good sports performance, but a group of cliques, high-level people in small groups.

That is the so-called tough guy gang for boys, and pink girl for girls.In the end, Sandy, the heroine played by Olivia Newton-John, gave up her identity as a good girl, took the initiative to put on a leather jacket, and dressed up as a pink girl, which ended the gap between her and her boyfriend. together.

How about turning it upside down this time?
Ronald sat down and typed quickly on the typewriter.The male protagonist Michael has become a school bully who is familiar with Shakespeare, and the female protagonist Stephanie has become the new leader of the Pink Lady.

In order to get closer to Stephanie, who fell in love at first sight, Michael wanted to join the tough guy gang.But tough guys have to have motorcycles.

With the money he earned from doing homework for others, Michael bought a second-hand Harley motorcycle. When the tough guy gang and the outside school gang were fighting, Michael became famous by driving the motorcycle and captured Stephanie's heart.

But Stephanie didn't know that under the motorcycle rider wearing a helmet was Michael, the school bully.While looking forward to a romantic love with a motorcycle rider, he also asks Michael to tutor his Shakespeare reading class homework.

The two lovers have a second real face under the appearance of the image.Xueba Michael is actually a motorcycle expert and a gang hero.Stephanie, the leader of the Pink Girls, also secretly wants to get good grades and have a chance to go to college.

In the final ending, of course, Stephanie knew that Michael was the hidden hero, and Michael also helped Stephanie with her homework and knew that she was smart, and the two had a happy ending.

Such a plot setting leaves enough room for composition and choreography.For example, Michael captured the heart of Stephanie, the leader of the pink girl in the motorcycle war, Stephanie's secret love for the helmet motorcycle rider, Michael and Stephanie discussed Shakespeare literature, and Michael took off the helmet at the final prom, all of which can arrange suitable singing and dancing.

Moreover, with the dual identity set up, Stephanie has a crush on Michael's hidden identity as a motorcycle rider, and treats her public identity as a schoolmaster as a friend, and Michael is jealous of herself.

Stephanie went from secretly falling in love with the knight Michael's hidden identity, to gradually falling in love with the public student Michael, and finally they became one and became a perfect lover.

This is a very classic love drama conflict caused by dual identities, and there are many dramas that can be done.

Inspired by Ronald, he struggled on the typewriter all night. At dawn, he finally sorted out the manuscript, and read it aloud by himself before he fell asleep.Then go to bed very satisfied.

"Ronald, Ronald..." The sleeping Ronald faintly heard a girl calling his name, but he couldn't see her face clearly.

"Who?"

"It's me, Donna, you slob." Cousin Donna patted his face.

"Ah, Donna. I didn't sleep last night, and I was catching up on the script." Ronald got up sleepily, "Why are you here? Don't you have to go to school?"

"Today is Columbus Day, a public holiday." Donna said angrily, "A woman said she couldn't get through to you, but she found our number in the phone book, and my mother asked me to see if you were at home. "

"Oh," Ronald remembered yesterday, in order to catch up with the draft, he unplugged the phone line to avoid those sales calls selling various things.Forgot to plug it in before going to bed.

"Girl, who is it?"

"I don't know. She said that her movie premiered in New York today, and she wants to invite you to the hotel for a chat. This is the name and phone number she left behind."

Ronald picked up the note and saw that there were only two letters PJ on it, and a hotel switchboard phone number and room number.

(End of this chapter)