Chapter 24 "Home Alone" is the helplessness of adults (please recommend)
The story behind "Home Alone" is actually very simple.
In 1984, John Hughes' debut film "Sixteen Candles" won a North American box office of 23 million with a production cost of 6.5 million. This achievement made him famous in the field of American youth films. His emergence also brought him great confidence, so he made persistent efforts and took out the script "The Breakfast Club" that he had written in 1982, and approached Universal, hoping that the other party would invest.
There was a profitable project ahead, and of course Universal would not refuse, but unfortunately, after reviewing the script, Universal felt that the project was too simple and had too few scenes, so it gave a production budget of one million.
What could a budget of one million do in Hollywood at the time?
Hollywood in 1980 already had a salary of 20 million!
Not to mention inviting those super-A, even the B-list can’t be invited! Even if it is a C, it still takes up a lot of production costs!
but-
John Hughes's main character candidate is Nicolas Cage.
Born in 1964, Cage had just turned 20 years old at the time and had only acted in six movies, most of the time as supporting roles for others.
According to Hollywood's salary principles, John Hughes can afford Cage, but Cage can't see John Hughes.
The reason is simple. Among the six projects he participated in, two were directed by his uncle Francis Coppola himself. The other projects were either escorted by big names or paid enough money. As Coppola’s nephew, Even if he doesn't use his uncle's relationship, he can still receive a bunch of notebooks. In this case, you, a John Hughes who has just emerged, are nothing!
So Cage turned down John Hughes.
The way he refused was very simple.
Quoted a sky-high salary to reflect his status, which made John Hughes discouraged.
This behavior made John Hughes, who was already dissatisfied with the budget, extremely annoyed, but he couldn't help it.
Looking for a theory?
Unrealistic.
Why?
Because Universal at the time was fully supporting a movie—
Zemeckis and Spielberg's Back to the Future.
If John Hughes is tough with Cage, Coppola may be kept in the dark, and he will be kicked out of the game when he is around the world!
After all, this is just a small project with a million investment.
Compared with Spielberg, John Hughes is a fart!
Why did it come to Spielberg?
Isn’t it because Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg play games together?
John Hughes, the guy from the Jewish gang, can't afford to offend any of them. Even if there is fire, he has to hold back.
Therefore, even after "The Breakfast Club" became popular, John Hughes didn't mean to shout from the air. He knew that his arm couldn't twist the Jewish gang's thigh. Not only that, he also took the initiative to run, from around the world. When I arrived at Paramount, I handed "Spring Is Not a Day for Reading" to Paramount for production and distribution.
As the matter passed, John Hughes never had any interaction with the Jewish gang.
He makes the movies he wants to make, and the results are good and bad.
Until 1989, after Warner killed "Home Alone", the Jewish gang reappeared in his field of vision.
As the director of "Back to the Future" Robert Zemeckis said, John Hughes didn't care whether he was emptied at all, let alone whether Chris Columbus crossed his producer and made a decision. With the two leading actors, he was even very happy that his project could continue to run. What he really cared about was that after the project was approved, Columbus, a member of the Jewish gang, wanted to finalize the leading role.
If Columbus is allowed to finalize the protagonist, then he will fall into the hands of the Jewish gang for the second time.
Cage lost face last time, and this time the crew will be completely taken over by the Jewish gang?
John Hughes, a little unwilling.
But what's the use of not being reconciled?
Even if he was the producer, he couldn't yell at Columbus, "Get out!"
Because he understands that if Columbus is kicked out, it means that Fox may withdraw its capital.
Once Fox divests, his project will be completely over.
Moreover, he also knew in his heart that Columbus's method of finding another newcomer was not a problem, because his friend's son Macaulay was living in dire straits, and fame was the greatest pain for this child. The more money he makes, the more ruthless his father will **** it up...
On the one hand, it’s her face, on the other, she’s pushing her friend’s son into the abyss.
John Hughes didn't know how to choose, so he gave everything to God.
As a producer, he agreed to Columbus' audition request. If in the audition, he could meet a boy who caught his eye, then Macaulay would be eliminated directly, but if he didn't find out, That Macaulay is the lead actor.
Columbus has no objection to this either. He is a new director who only joined the Jewish gang based on the script. He also wants to make a career with his own ability, instead of being commented by the outside world all the time: no Speer Berg, he can't make it.
Under such circumstances, when Roland participated in the audition, he discovered that John Hughes had no intention of boycotting the Jewish gang. Get real auditions.
Nested on his own sofa, Roland stared at the pale ceiling, his thoughts drifting to the sky.
This kind of story with nine twists and eighteen turns, even if he was killed, he would never have imagined it!
Roland can understand the feeling of being slapped in the face and being suffocated, and still unwilling after many years.
This is the aggrievedness of adults.
This is a compromise that has been beaten by society.
"This is really more exciting than fiction..."
"If John Hughes is the protagonist of the novel, then the author who wrote it like this may have starved to death."
"No wonder John Hughes has only made one movie after Home Alone."
"Do you feel tired? Being a screenwriter honestly, eating copyright licensing fees and dividends, may be the most secure way of making a living in this circle."
"well…"
sighed, smiled wryly and shook his head.
At this moment, Roland has a lot of emotions.
If there is no time loop, what will happen to him?
Can't get the project of "Home Alone", and then work hard, trying to get rid of "From the Beginning to the Ground"?
Come on-
John Hughes' experience made Roland understand a truth.
Self-made people may really exist, but class crushing will be more ferocious.
As long as he devotes himself to the Internet, will he really be able to do what Rebs said, even a pig can be blown up?
Do not make jokes.
Adults, none are easy.
"Thanks for the time loop."
"Thank you for letting me hear this story."
"I will make a good movie, definitely..."
If you say that after getting the time loop, there are many things Roland wants to do.
He feels that he is omnipotent, and he can turn over hundreds of thousands of miles with a single somersault.
But after he learned of John Hughes' helplessness, he cherished the "Home Alone" that was at his fingertips even more.
The opportunity to become popular was not something he waited for.
If he insisted on auditioning, how could he find out everything about John Hughes from director Zemeckis?
Although under David's words, his mentality has changed. He feels that learning is also a very happy thing. He can even decide how to use the skills he has learned, but at the root of it, it is better to enrich himself first. Are you talking about the future?
After his ability has accumulated to a certain level, the relationship will become the last straw that breaks the camel's back.
At least, in this territory, this sentence is feasible.
Note: ① Cage did reject John Hughes by raising his pay, which he admitted himself. ②In Macaulay's autobiography, he described John Hughes as the most respected person, and he was very grateful for the opportunity to participate in "Home Alone", but becoming famous was too painful for him. At the age of thirteen, he He was reprimanded by his father because he was exhausted while participating in the event. At that time, he thought about committing suicide. ③There is no actual conflict between Columbus and John Hughes. As for Spielberg, this is not clear. I did not find any news about their conflicts. Instead, I found a tribute to John Hughes in "Ready Player One". The Easter egg, featuring a young man in a trench coat with his right hand held high, is based on John Bender in The Breakfast Club (the one Cage dropped). ④ Columbus really wanted to get rid of Spielberg's halo, so he agreed to John Hughes' proposal to let him choose first, and Zemeckis was the same. The reason why he made "Emerald" first was because he was shooting "Back to the Future" is because he really doesn't want to be seen as an incompetent person who uses Spielberg to support his facade. Spielberg helped too many people, but when his aura made those people popular, it also brought great pressure to them. Except for the real Jewish people, many directors ended up doing it alone. ⑤John Hughes’s early films were all invested by Universal. When talking about “The Breakfast Club”, Spielberg happened to pull Director Zemeckis to talk about “Back to the Future” with Universal.
(end of this chapter)