"Two Filet-O-Fish burgers, please."
Catholics have a tradition of not eating meat on Fridays, so McDonald's, which mainly sells beef burgers, invented the fried cod burger. Ronald doesn't eat it often, and today, he ran out of coupons for Big Macs.
After returning home, he boiled a kettle of water, took out a tea bag, and made a large cup of black tea. He quickly finished his dinner with the black tea. Ronald sat at the table in a daze.
Ronald applied to two public universities in New York. One was the University at Albany, State University of New York, and the other was the newly established City University of New York, Staten Island. The economy was bad, and inflation was severe, and getting a diploma from an ordinary university did not necessarily mean that he could find a good job.
Ronald chose two public universities with low tuition fees. Aunt Karen was a resident of New York State, so she could enjoy a large tuition reduction. He applied for accounting, a job that all companies need. Even if the Great Depression came again, he could still sort invoices and do bookkeeping for grocery stores, and he could always make a living.
New York is in the northeastern United States, and people often hear about the famous Ivy League private schools, such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia... and so on.
The starting point of class separation in America is college, and Ronald wants to go to a prestigious school. He has no money and no scholarships, and the tuition fees of private prestigious schools were several times that of public schools. His SAT scores and high school grades were enough to qualify, but he could not apply for the low-interest student loans funded by the state.
Alas, if I had to go to the Staten Island campus of the City University of New York, which had just been upgraded from a community college (junior college to undergraduate), I would probably have to look up to those students from prestigious universities for the rest of my life with envy.
…
I joined a film company and worked as a temporary director for a day. Originally, I just wanted to find a job in the industry so that I could earn more hard-earned money from taking photos.
However, the conversation with Gail about dreams and the feeling of having a single word to decide a film in front of 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 with talent can make a lot of money. I must be talented, right?
Besides, there was the strange dream last night. If I could dream about more future movies, I could make them in advance and make a lot of money, right?
Not necessarily.
Film is the most expensive art.
Unlike a novelist, who can write by spending a dollar on pencils and paper, if you want to be a painter, you only need to spend $100 on brushes, paint, and canvas and start painting.
If you want to make a feature film that can be shown in theaters, the minimum cost is $200,000.
Even a 10-minute short film like the one Jim shot, which has no chance of being shown in theaters, costs more than 20,000 US dollars.
To make a normal-budget movie... You start with $3 million.
…
Or else, you can dig out the script and submit it to the production studio. Then you will be appreciated by the producer, become a director, make a masterpiece, marry a beautiful and wealthy woman, and reach the peak of your life.
I am afraid it is not that easy.
Not to mention other things, based on my own experience of reading scripts at New World Pictures for several months, I found that many of the films to be filmed this year had their scripts written five years ago, and some had been hidden in the warehouses of the eight major studios for more than ten years.
As a young man with no successful works and no connections, I am afraid that if the script I write is sent to the eight major studios, it will not even pass the review of a reviewer like me.
…
Join the New World, slowly gain Roger Corman's appreciation, and then become like Alan and Joe?
This road is also difficult.
This is no longer the era of big studios. Twenty years ago, as long as you worked in a big studio and had talent and worked hard, you could get ahead. You could write scripts for your own company's stars, find your own company's directors to shoot, and after five or six years, you could be promoted to assistant director, and then become a director and shoot your own movie with a budget of $3 million.
In Hollywood today, everything is a free market. You can find your investment, your actors, and negotiate on your own with distribution companies.
Before getting a ticket to enter the free market, you have to be like Allan and Joe, taking the minimum wage of $200 per week stipulated by the union during filming and reducing your income by more than half during non-filming periods. It takes five or six years to start filming a low-budget small production of $300,000. This is under one of the honest men, Roger Corman, in this industry.
Not only that, but the new generation of great directors that emerged in the New Hollywood movement in the past 10 years are all college graduates. George Lucas, who made "Star Wars"; Francis Coppola who made "The Godfather"; Martin Scorsese who made "Taxi Driver"...
I am just a high school graduate; can I compete with these graduates from prestigious universities?
…
On the other hand, it is not easy for me to enter the film industry.
How many handsome men and beautiful women want to enter this industry but can't find the way?
I stumbled into New World Pictures by accident and participated in the filming of the movie. I can say that luck played a big role. At another time, I might not even pass the interview.
If I study accounting at the City University of New York for four years, I will most likely be an accountant. My former dream of becoming a movie director may become a memory of youth, just like Chris and Mara.
…
Ronald held the cup and took a sip of the black tea. The feeling of everyone responding to his call on the set came to his mind again.
I smiled bitterly and began to enjoy recalling that moment. Anyone who has had this decisive creative experience would probably want to do it again.
After going to college, you may find a stable job with an average income and forget about making movies as a dream.
You may make a lot of money working in Hollywood, or you may remain poor forever, but no matter what, one thing is certain: you will remain poor for several more years.
How do you choose between going to college and making movies? It would be great if there was a way to have the best of both worlds.
If you want to have the best of both worlds, then maybe it is possible.
…
"Ring, ring, ring…"
The phone suddenly rang.
"Hello, this is Ronald."
"Um, hello, I'm looking for Mr. Lee. He's a portrait photographer." A pleasant mezzo-soprano voice came.
"I am Ronald, please. May I ask who you are?"
"OK. Ronald, my friend recommended you to me. You see, I called you several times this week, but no one answered, so I'll try one last time tonight."
"Sorry, I've been working on a film set since Thanksgiving break, so I haven't been home during this time."
"So, are you still taking audition photos for people?"
"Yes, but I have to film on the set next week and it will last until the 22nd."
"So you're busy until Christmas?"
"I should be free on the 23rd. The morning of the 24th is also fine. Everyone will be celebrating the holiday in the afternoon."
"Okay, I'd like you to take a set of audition photos for me on the 23rd."
"What's your name?"
"My name is Demi Guynes."
"OK, do you want to update your audition photo, or are you shooting for the first time?"
"Yes."
"Okay, do you want to shoot in black and white or color?" Ronald opened the drawer, took out a work notebook, and started taking notes.
"Uh, I don't know, what do you think?"
"It depends on whether the film you want to audition for is in black and white or color. If you're just shooting it to keep with the casting director, I'd recommend color."
"Okay, color, then."
"Well, do you want to shoot outdoors or indoors? Oh, if it's your first time, you can consider indoors. Nowadays, most movies are shot in studios. You can use indoors when you first start and add more later if necessary."
"Oh, I hear 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 model with an agent, and I don't go to photographers' houses." The girl was alert.
"I totally understand. If you have a free studio, I can use 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 there to shoot."
"That's great, my boyfriend's house in West Hollywood is huge."
"Generally speaking, for the first casting, I recommend shooting two versions, one for a drama and one for a romantic comedy. The total cost of the two sets of photography is $50, including five 6X8-inch photos per version and the negatives."
"Okay, it's settled then."
"What's your phone number, Ms. Guynes? I'll contact you on Friday the 22nd, and we'll set a time and address for the shoot."
"Oh, my phone number is 689-8425."
Note: Demi here is Demi Moore. Her original name was Demi Gene Guynes. After she married her first husband, she took his name, Moore.