Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1429 Don’t Teach Me How to Be a Director

"No, No, No, No, Forrest Gump can't speak with such a thick southern accent. This is a movie that is distributed nationwide, not a project made for small town theaters in the South..."

On the third day, Shirley Lansing saw the footage that Ronald had shot in the previous two days. Those shots were very immersive. Although Lansing did not understand film art, she knew that the most important thing for a commercial film was to allow the audience to concentrate on the world of the movie.

The samples from the first two days really make people feel eager to know what will happen to Forrest Gump next.

But on the third day, when Ronald was filming some of the dialogues between Gump and Jenny and other people in the town, she finally discovered the biggest problem. Ronald and Tom Hanks, without consulting her, decided on their own that Gump should speak with a heavy southern accent.

As soon as the filming was stopped, Shirley Lansing pulled Ronald into the trailer and had a serious "discuss" of the matter with him.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with this. On the contrary, it can make the movie unique... Have a sip?" Ronald didn't get into a technical argument, but made a judgment right away, thinking that Lansing's concerns were completely unnecessary. He took out a thermos cup, poured some black tea into it, and handed a cup to Shirley Lansing.

"I don't need to remind you, Ronald. The Southern accent is not recognized by the audience on the East and West Coasts and the Great Lakes region. It is difficult for such a protagonist to resonate with the three largest audience groups in America..."

Shirley Lansing did not take the tea. Instead, she began to express her thoughts in a tone of "I'm doing this for your own good."

Her idea is also very simple. The Dixies who speak with a strong accent in the southern states actually occupy a very small proportion of the American movie box office market. Therefore, commercial films rarely have protagonists who speak with a southern accent.

Generally speaking, it's either the New York theater accent, the so-called standard American accent near Michigan, or some East Coast or West Coast accent that makes the audience think "it's cool that people there speak like that."

The Dixie accent in the South sounds very rustic. Whether it is the people who go to the East Coast or the West Coast to work, they will soon feel ashamed of this accent. In a short time, they will learn the way people there speak, completely forget this southern accent, and integrate into the trendy urban life.

"This movie is different. Forrest Gump is not a person who is bigger than everyday life. He is a person around us, an uncle, cousin, friend, classmate that everyone has, and it could be ourselves.

We can all be seen as Forrest Gump in front of those people with super backgrounds, life experiences, strength and wisdom. What ordinary people can do is to work hard and move forward. This kind of accent can better bring him into the story.

Of course, I understand your opinion. As Forrest Gump grows up, I will keep his accent within an appropriate range. After all, Hanks is not a non-professional southern actor like Michael Jr. If he is recognizable, it will not affect the audience's understanding of the lines..."

Ronald tried to be as polite as possible and explained his thoughts to Shirley Lansing. Unlike the novel, the Forrest Gump in the script is a representative of the ordinary American. His struggle is our struggle. What he has experienced is what we have experienced...

The success that Forrest Gump finally achieved was not like the one in other movies, where the super protagonist came up with a super idea in a flash, defeated the villain in one go, and won the beauty...

Forrest Gump is a down-to-earth person who takes the principles he learned in kindergarten as a guide for his life. To some extent, he is just an ordinary American.

"But, Ronald, think about the critics. What will they say? Think about the Oscar judges, what will they think? From the first day Hollywood was established, no movie with a Southern accent has won the Best Picture..."

“Shirley…”

Ronald was a little angry. Why was Shirley Lansing also throwing a typical producer's tantrum?
Many producers actually know nothing and can’t do anything on the set, but they just want to show off to professionals like directors, actors, and cinematographers that they know how to make a movie better than them.

The way to achieve this sense of superiority is to argue and pester about some details, and insist that the director approves of it.

To some extent, this is a typical problem of producers, who want to use this method to "tame" the director and show their authority, and then use this as a universal reason to serve themselves afterwards.

If the movie is successful, then it is because these "corrections" they made in the details worked. If the movie fails at the box office, then it is because the director did not listen enough to their professional opinions. If he had followed their ideas more, he might have succeeded.

"How's that?" Shirley Lansing heard Ronald calling her name and thought he was going to give in. This was a very good sign. Next time he came to the crew, she would ask him to start calling her Ms. Lansing... hehe...

"I can't teach you how to run a large studio, and you don't have to teach me how to direct a movie..."

"Of course, I won't come to the crew often, as long as you can fix your accent... No, what did you say just now?"

Shirley Lansing opened her mouth in surprise, almost unable to believe her ears. No matter how big a director was, no one had ever challenged her like this!

"Did not you say……"

"I say what I think. If you don't want to distribute this movie, we can renegotiate the contract... I can buy out the movie from Paramount and try my luck with other distributors..."

"Forehead……"

Shirley Lansing took a sip of red tea and said, "I'm just here to show my authority. There's no need to be so tough, right?"
"Ronald, that's not what I meant. If you think the accent is not a big problem, then let's do it this way. After all, you and Hanks are both taking risks, and I believe you can do a good job... I'll come to visit the crew when I'm free. If there's nothing else, I'll go back first..."

Shirley Lansing saw that things were not going well and immediately tried to make up for it, but the hand holding the teacup was shaking slightly, revealing her unwillingness.

"I'm going back to the crew. My assistant will take you to the airport..." Ronald arranged for someone to take Lansing to the airport, and he walked into the crew as if nothing had happened.

"It's break time, let's move on to the next game..."

……

"What did Shirley Lansing tell you? Why did she go back to Los Angeles without even checking in with the crew?"

Tom Hanks still noticed something was wrong, and after the filming for the day was completed, he ran to Ronald's room, under the pretext of discussing the performance, to inquire about the news.

"That's not a big deal..." Ronald waved his hand, just his usual way of making a fuss. "How did you feel about shooting today?"

What's more important is Tom Hanks' feeling about playing Forrest Gump. Although there has been some progress compared to the previous two days, Hanks still felt nervous on the set. His performance of Forrest Gump can't be said to be bad, but it is always a certain distance away from Ronald and everyone's expectations of him.

"I'm still finding the feeling. To be honest, the pressure of performing this role is beyond my imagination..."

Tom Hanks sat down on a sofa, raised his hands and began to stretch. When he played Forrest Gump, he was always very nervous and his muscles became stiff.

Ronald made him a cup of instant coffee, then sat next to him and listened attentively to Tom Hanks' complaints.

The character of Forrest Gump is actually a fusion of two quite different characters.

One is the realistic Forrest Gump. He is the slightly mentally retarded kid who really grew up in Alabama. He has his troubles and his joys. Life is not too harsh on him. It gave him a bad brain, but compensated with a strong body.

He has a mother who loves him, Jenny, his best friend from childhood, and Bob, whom he met later in the army, and Lieutenant Dan.

This role needs to be played in a more realistic way. In the process of growing from youth to middle age, Forrest Gump also has very obvious growth.

From not understanding love between men and women at the beginning, to slowly understanding Jenny's complex feelings towards him. From not knowing her own IQ tragedy at the beginning, to knowing that she had a son later, she already understood the harsh treatment she had received because of her low IQ, and was deeply afraid that her son would repeat the same mistake...

The other is the symbolic Forrest Gump. This Forrest Gump is a standard specimen of an ordinary American. He represents the mainstream of society, growing up in a small town, working and growing in a big city, meeting his beloved there, getting married and having children, and experiencing all kinds of social changes in the past twenty years.

It can be said that Forrest Gump is a symbol of those Americans who possess traditional conservative virtues such as persistence, hard work, trustworthiness, innocence, etc.

To play the role of Forrest Gump, one has to use a symbolic approach and not stick to overly realistic character treatment.

There are many contradictions between the two. In addition, with a mentally retarded perspective, Forrest Gump cannot be played in a symbolic or flat way like Rain Man. It must have a sense of reality, but also show that I am a person like him.

It is very difficult to strike the right balance. If you give too much, it won't look like a real person, and if you give too little, it won't be real enough.

It can be said that Tom Hanks was very anxious during the first three days after filming started.

Ronald listened carefully to Hanks's ideas and agreed with all the performance issues. Tom Hanks also took these aspects into consideration and made a lot of preparations in advance.

Ronald has also worked with actors who are famous for their acting skills, or seen their performances on set. Genius actors like Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando may not think as deeply as Hanks. They act more instinctively, and although they can also perform complex roles, they may not be so profound if you ask them to analyze.

This may also be the key to Tom Hanks's success in transforming from a comedian to a serious actor. Ronald has full confidence in him, and the difficult run-in in the past two days may be related to his excessive nervousness.

Maybe I talked to him too much about character analysis and didn't trust his instincts enough?

Ronald thought about this and understood what was going on. He asked his assistant to go to the hotel bar and get a bottle of liqueur.

He also took out some special cookies made by his aunt, and he and Hanks ate some delicious snacks with liqueur.

"Tom, I only have one request of you..."

After drinking two glasses, Ronald saw that Tom Hanks' body had relaxed a little, so he took the opportunity to tell him his thoughts.

"You didn't think so much when you were acting in Philadelphia. I think your analysis of Forrest Gump has exhausted all aspects. All you have to do is relax and act with your own instincts.

I believe in intuition and subconsciousness. All you need to do is relax and act. The preparations you have made in the past few weeks will come out at the right time to help you find that Forrest Gump..."

"You think so?" Tom Hanks also felt a lot more relaxed. Ronald was a rare director who was willing to calm down and listen to his actors talk about their psychological anxieties.

He is quite different from Jonathan Demme, who tends to let his actors maintain a certain level of anxiety, so that this anxiety can burst out at a certain time.

Ronald likes to let the actors relax. Well-prepared actors can relax and give their best performance.

Of course, there is no difference between these two styles. It is more due to the differences in the script and the characters.

……

"Action!"

By the fourth day, the filming really got going.

Everyone at the scene could see that Tom Hanks had finally gotten into the groove. His performance was more relaxed, and it was more of a natural reaction than a premeditated one...

Robin Wright felt it most clearly. She had many scenes with Tom Hanks, and today Tom Hanks not only performed visibly better, but it also stimulated her a lot.

Hanks gave her many emotional reactions that she needed to play Jenny just right, and the performance was very comfortable. Not only was the performance easy, but the effect was also better. When Robin Wright was in the close-up position of the reaction shot, a kind of confidence from the inside out emanated. It's hard to say whether the role of Jenny will win an award, but it will definitely be remembered by the audience.

"Cut!"

Ronald was very satisfied with the scene where Forrest Gump and Jenny were filming in college, and Forrest Gump ran into Jenny and her boyfriend. Forrest Gump's ignorance of love between men and women and his heartfelt love for Jenny were both very well portrayed.

Jenny's protection of Forrest Gump is also fully demonstrated. After Forrest Gump rushed into her wealthy boyfriend's car and beat him up, Jenny still defended Forrest Gump in her words, putting Forrest Gump in a higher position than her boyfriend.

This tendency is not presented directly to the audience, but is carefully nurtured and hidden in the two people's lines, actions, and plot direction.

This script is actually much better written than the novel. The audience can understand a lot of things from the performance on their own, which also gives the audience a very comfortable feeling. I understand the director's subtext, and they will also be mentally prepared in advance for the male and female protagonists in the movie who are unaware of their own fateful entanglement.

"Very good, take a break..."

Seeing that the filming of this part was progressing very well, Ronald held a meeting. After everyone agreed, he decisively modified the shooting plan and re-shot all the content that had been shot in the previous three days.

If the performance level throughout the film can be maintained at this level, then this movie will definitely become a phenomenal movie.