The man continued, "Directing for assistant directors is not some profound artistic creation; it's just shooting some shots. Why must Joe be in charge? Jerry said that the assistant's shots had some minor problems, but which movie produced by New World Productions doesn't have problems? These are just some shots. I don't understand why it won't work."
He may not know that this assistant is Ronald.
Everyone was silent for a while. This was undoubtedly a feasible way to solve the problem, but Roger Corman was not a philanthropist. Jerry Zucker had fooled him, and he would not let him go with just a few words.
Ronald had never expected it would be his turn to get a big prize so soon. He was overjoyed and thought internally: "Yes, that's right, I'm good enough, please let me be the second group director, then I can join the Directors Guild. Even the lowest level assistant director can use the membership card to advertise and take audition photos."
But his expression was serious, his lips were tightly closed, and he said nothing.
Roger Corman coughed and said, "The essence of this matter is a question of integrity. Jerry signed the contract, and he must fulfill it. Now you signed a $3.5 million filming contract with Paramount, and let's say Warner gives you a budget of $7 million tomorrow, and will you give up Paramount and go to Warner?"
Jerry Zucker responded sharply: "This is not a question of how much money is, but industry rules. We have spent five years on this movie to slowly polish it into what it is now. Your request destroys our only chance in the past five years. This is the dream of the three of us, don't stand in the way, Roger."
He picked up the coffee and took a sip. "We are not unreasonable. In addition to returning the advance salary you gave me, I can also be responsible for the salary of the second group of directors for the remaining days."
Roger Corman pondered for a moment and said, "But you have already shot two-thirds of the work, and I can't find anyone to replace you." After saying that, he glanced at Ronald vaguely.
Roger Corman specifically emphasized the number of two-thirds, which was a subtle reminder to Ronald not to jump out and do bad things. Even if Ronald took over the filming now, the Directors Guild would not send him an invitation to join the union because the number of shots shot was not enough, and the assistant director will still have to be credited to Jerry Zucker.
Ronald understood the hint, so he sat upright, lowered his head slightly, looked serious, and said nothing. But his mind was like a roller coaster: "No way, there must be a way to get around this rule."
"No one stipulates that a crew can only have one second group, right?" Sure enough, Jerry Zack jumped out. He needed to add fuel to the fire and let Ronald take over so that he could get out of it. "As long as the remaining 5 days of shooting are treated as a separate second group shooting task, then the person who takes over will be considered to have completed all the shooting."
Jerry Zucker also hinted to Ronald that as long as two second groups were set up, there would be two second group directors, and he would have the opportunity to join the Directors Guild. It would be best if Ronald could nominate himself. Everyone looked at Ronald again.
Ronald remained silent. He couldn't recommend himself for such a thing... Besides, he wasn't the only choice for boss, Roger Corman...
Silence has a powerful power, like a huge black hole. Everyone wants to say something to fill this black hole and free themselves from the gravity of the black hole.
Roger Corman also took a sip of coffee. He knew that he had no cards in his hand to stop Jerry Zucker from running away. He also had no cards to force Joe Dante to give up helping his good friend Allen direct the scene and go to the second unit. But he was not willing to give up so quickly.
He decided to make one last effort:
"Normally, someone who has been a credited director will not go back to be a second-unit director. However, considering the current situation of the crew, we need someone who is familiar with the crew and has experience..."
This time, everyone looked at co-director Joe Dante.
There was a long, awkward silence...
Ronald's heart was beating so fast that he could hear the thumping sound in his chest. His throat began to feel dry, then itchy, and he couldn't help coughing, but he still tried his best to suppress it and maintain this expressionless silence.
Because he knew that whether he could get the membership card of the Directors Guild depended on these few minutes. He had to use all his willpower - pretending to be dumb.
After a long time, no one responded to Roger Corman's words. Everyone seemed afraid to speak, afraid to change their sitting position, for fear that people would mistakenly think they had something to say, and even their muscles began to stiffen.
Finally, Joe Dante, who was under pressure from everyone's gaze, broke the silence and said,
"I think Allan is still very weak. It would be risky for me to leave him at this time, and it would not be in line with the obligations between friends. The sample filmed yesterday has fully demonstrated Ronald's directing ability and artistic talent. I think setting up a new second film crew and letting him be in charge can completely complete the second filming..."
Bingo!
Before Joe Dante could finish, Jerry Zucker stood up and tried to shake Ronald's hand, "Then we'll all be OK."
Ronald still waited politely for Joe Dante, shook hands with him first to express his gratitude, then shook hands with the owner Roger Coleman, and finally shook hands with Jerry Zucker.
Jerry was already in ecstasy, took out his checkbook, wrote $600 on it, signed it, and handed it to Roger Corman. They left happily.
The Cormans walked up to Ronald, and Roger reached out his hand and shook it. "Go get Gale's contact information for the second group of photographers. I'll have Gale put your information on the director's hiring form for 'Rock n Roll High School' and send it to the Directors Guild."
"Okay, Mr. Corman, thank you very much."
Roger waved and prepared to leave.
The proprietress, Julie Corman, did not leave immediately. She also shook hands with Ronald and started chatting: "How is your college application going, Ronald?"
"I applied to two public universities in New York State." Ronald liked the demeanor of this professional woman very much. "But I also want to apply to several schools that specialize in film. Working in the New World made me fall in love with film, so I want to give it a try."
"Have you decided? It looks like the application deadline is approaching."
"I know very little about it, and I would be grateful if you could enlighten me, Mrs. Corman."
"Just call me Julie." Julie Corman sat down again and analyzed the situation of the university film major to Ronald.
"Universities in California are close to Hollywood, and their film departments are relatively strong, including UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) and USC (University of Southern California), both of which are very good. New York is close to Broadway, and it is very strong in training stage actors. Its film department is not as good, but it can also be considered. NYU (New York University) and Columbia University both have very good majors. However, there are not many people working in the film industry in New York, so the job market for undergraduates is not as good as in Los Angeles."
"Are there scholarships for these schools?" Ronald asked.
"There are a few scholarships, mainly for students from other countries outside the United States." Julie smiled. She had heard Gale talk about Ronald's situation and knew that the boy in front of her did not come from a wealthy family.
"If you study film, you need to prepare for other expenses. In addition to tuition, books, and miscellaneous fees, the graduation project of film students is to make a short film. But the school does not have this money, so you have to raise it yourself or find sponsors."
Shit..., the filming fee is at least more than 20,000 US dollars, which is more expensive than the tuition. Ronald had a headache.
"But don't worry. With your artistic talent, it won't be hard to find some lucrative work in New York. New York is the world's largest advertising center. There are dozens of commercials being filmed on Madison Street every day. Now that you have a Directors Guild card, you can try to shoot commercials for them."
Ronald was grateful and thanked Julie for her guidance.
"If you need a letter of recommendation, you can come to Roger or me."
After saying that, she put her arm around her husband Roger, and the two strouted out.
The boss's wife Julie knew her husband Roger's habits. He would be unhappy when the cost of filming increased. Moreover, today, two things happened at the same time. They lost Jerry Zucker, a cheap laborer, and Ronald Lee, a future cheap laborer with great potential. However, she also knew that her husband Roger was a rarely seen kind person in the film industry, except that he was a bit stingy. That's why gave him advice.
She was very optimistic about Ronald Lee's future, so she came over and gave Ronald a lot of valuable advice. "This kid has some talent, but more importantly, he seems very patient and hardworking. He will definitely achieve something in the future." Julie whispered to Roger.
Ronald stood alone outside Roger Corman's office and suddenly wanted to laugh and share this news with everyone. This kind of assistant membership might not be a big deal in the eyes of people in the industry, but if he showed it to clients who were taking audition photos, the fee could be greatly increased.