Alan Parker stood up immediately, "Wait a minute, this movie will be great. It will greatly enhance the reputation of this school and attract more students to apply."
A school director with steel-gray hair and half-frame glasses immediately retorted: "Our school has been on the map for forty years, and there are still hundreds of qualified applicants every year who are not admitted because the number of admissions exceeds the number. Admissions publicity is the last thing we need."
Producer Da Silva also stood up: "I assure you that this will be a movie of very high quality and taste, and it is not a work that slanders and defames the reputation of the school."
The school director who spoke also stood up, supported the table with both hands, and looked directly at the director and producer:
"Gentlemen, I can't take this risk. Let you defame our school like you did with Turkish prisons in the previous movie, Midnight Express."
"Why? When I contacted you last time, everything went smoothly. Why did you suddenly make such a decision?" Producer Da Silva asked the principal.
The principal raised his hand and motioned for the steel-gray-haired school director to speak.
"Last time when your crew came to the school, one of our teachers heard the crew members discussing the script of 'Hot Lunch'. There were stories about female students getting pregnant, school bullying, racial discrimination, etc., all made-up stories."
"She reported the situation to me. I think these things will never happen in our school and cannot represent the image of the New York performing arts school. After an emergency meeting of our board of directors, it was decided to immediately terminate all cooperation with the 'Hot Lunch' crew."
The school director raised his head high and looked down at the crew members with his eyes.
The principal finally added:
"This is a joint decision of the board of directors and the New York Board of Education."
"Bang!" Alan slammed the table angrily. The school director began to question his last movie, which was already a personal attack.
Everyone had to get up and leave.
"Ruin the reputation of Turkish prisons. Does that place have a reputation? Or is your school's reputation the same as that of Turkish prisons? It's inexplicable!"
"A bunch of idiots who don't understand art are managing a school named after art. It's ridiculous!"
Alan was still angry all the way.
Ronald followed him out of the principal's office. Across the playground from the window was the auditorium, which could accommodate more than 2,000 people.
It was originally planned to be used to organize this large-scale audition. All senior and graduating students in the school would come to participate in the audition. Now, it has all become moot.
"Pah, pah, pah..." The sound of baseball came. Ronald looked and saw three young men who looked like students were playing on the playground.
The catcher caught the pitcher's ball three times, and the young man who swung the bat was not good at it. He didn't hit it once and was struck out.
The group walked out of the gate, and Ronald looked back again.
This is an old stone building built before World War I. The stone walls, with red doors and windows, give people a sense of opulence.
The High School for Performing Arts is located on 46th Street in Midtown Manhattan, not far from Times Square, and is in the center of the capitalist world. They are indeed qualified to be arrogant and kick the "Hot Lunch" crew out.
....
"Damn it, who leaked the script?" David Da Silva cursed, "If I find out, I will... I will kill this bastard."
"Don't be like this, David. The performing arts high school will find out in the end. The focus now is not to pursue responsibility, but to come up with a solution." Alan Parker said calmly and rationally, contrary to his usual behavior.
"Not necessarily. We can give them a fake script..." Ronald thought to himself.
"Coffee is here." Margaret walked into the meeting room with a tray of coffee, and Ronald hurried forward to help.
Everyone was surprised by the board of directors at the performing arts high school. Now, they are back in the casting studio, holding an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.
"Alan, you should consider returning to Christopher Gore's script. Let's go back to the starting point and start again."
'Christopher Gore- this name sounds familiar.' Ronald flipped through the script in his hand, and sure enough, in the writer column, it said "Christopher Gore".
"No, Chris's version is still a Hollywood package. When I agreed to the director at the beginning, I said that you would let me write my version of the script, and Chris would only retain the right to sign it."
"Oh my God, Alan. Why are you so stubborn? The attitude of the Performing Arts High School was very clear today. They would not agree with the plots you wrote. A poor black boy makes a rich white girl pregnant? Then which New York parent would send their daughter to the Performing Arts High School to dance ballet?"
David Da Silva jumped off the stool excitedly.
"And they also refused to let us borrow the filming location. Where can we shoot? If we build a set, we have to add at least 5 million to the budget. The original budget of 8.5 million was based on real-life shooting."
"That's your problem. If you only wanted Chris's script, why did you ask me to direct it?" Alan Parker said bluntly, "David, you must have wanted to make a different movie, right?"
The director continued, "It's 1979, not 1959. The audience no longer buys those false stories. A hit movie must make the audience feel real and credible. Can they watch "The Wizard of Oz" after being baptized by "The Godfather"? "
Da Silva was unwilling to back down:
"Of course, I know that the audience needs to see real stories, but truth does not mean copying news documentaries. Movies are a form of entertainment, and the audience still needs a positive ending."
"And we also have to consider the attitude of the school. Appropriate compromise is necessary."
"Compromise? There is no compromise in art. If you compromise a little here and a little there, you will end up with a bunch of mediocre garbage."
The producer and the director argued more and more fiercely, their heads almost bumped together, and their saliva splashed on each other's faces with angry words.
They looked a little out of control; their faces were red, and their necks were thick. Margaret was beside them and couldn't persuade them.
Ronald had an idea and deliberately pushed the script forward. The script fell to the ground with a loud "pop", interrupting the argument between the two.
"Sorry." Ronald picked up the script and said.
"Ronald," the two big guys turned around and called out his name at the same time.
"You happen to be the same age as the story. Tell me what you think. Do you like the real world or the fake story?" Alan took the lead in throwing the hot potato to him.
"Yes, Ronald, tell me, do you hope that they will end up making adult movies and can't find a job as a waiter, or do you hope that they will realize their dreams at the end of the movie?"
David Da Silva swung the bat from the perspective of the American dream.
Ronald was now very regretful.
If he agreed with the director's opinion, he would offend the producer, and his job for the next few months would become difficult. If he agreed with the producer's opinion, that would be even worse. The director might fire him on the spot.
"Uh... Uh..." His mind was spinning rapidly. Ronald picked up the script to cover up and flipped it left and right.
His eyes swept over the plot of the singer character CoCo. She was deceived by a director to make an adult movie.
"Why don't we combine the two?" Ronald had a sudden idea.
Combine? The director and the producer got angry again. "If this can be combined, what are we even arguing about?"
"For example, CoCo, she can be deceived, but why not let her get a small job in the end? In this way, her experience is both in line with reality, and at the end, she also realizes a small dream of hers." Ronald whispered.
"That makes sense. What do you think, Alan?" David Da Silva asked the director.
Alan Parker stared at Ronald with a piercing gaze: "This is a good idea. Ronald, you are the same age as the character in the play. Your idea is very valuable for reference."
"Let's make some changes based on this and contact the performing arts school again?" The director turned his chair to the producer and asked.
Producer Da Silva replied: "That's it. Next, we have to think about how to find alternative filming locations and how to find other suitable people to audition."
Hearing this, everyone was a little discouraged, but the atmosphere was much better than when they were tense just now, and they began to actively think of ways to solve the problem.
Margaret secretly gave Ronald a 'good job' nod.
As a result of the discussion, the producer decided to take a three-pronged approach.
The first is to continue to revise the script and strive to negotiate with the New York Performing Arts School again to make them change their minds.
The second is to find other art high schools in the New York area, such as the New York Conservatory of Music and the American Ballet Academy. Although the student size of these schools is not as large as that of the performing arts school, they can still find some suitable filming locations and audition students.
The third is to expand the scope of the joint audition of the two casting companies and send audition notices to Broadway, Hollywood, and even high school performing arts clubs. The New York crew held a thousand-person audition to select eight protagonists.
Those who were not selected as protagonists could also be cast in minor roles and extras.
Alan Parker came over and said to Ronald, "Take this script back with you. When you are free, think about how to revise it."
Ronald nodded in agreement.
"You are the same age as the characters in the story, and there may be some perspectives that we cannot see. So, don't read the content of the script, but learn its writing format. Then focus on two places."
"The first is the ending of the eight characters and what small successes they achieved in the end. For example, you said that Coco found a job. You have to think about what kind of job she can find and the money she can earn to support herself after graduation."
Ronald nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry about not being able to think of a complete idea. Just think of as many ideas as you can."
"Then there are those lifelike, real scenes. Which scenes in the art high school are attractive to you and what you and your high school classmates would like to see on the movie screen?"
"Write well. If you write well, I will add your name to the list of screenwriters." Director Parker finally painted a big pie.
.....
Everyone has left. David Da Silva personally sent Alan Parker away and continued to talk as they walked.
Ronald stayed behind, packed up his coffee cup, and sat alone.
He picked up the script and weighed it. To realize his dream of becoming a director, screenwriting is an inevitable link.