Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

This shop owner is Director Wu who won the grand prize at the Tokyo Film Festival for "Lao Jing" and helped guide a new generation of filmmakers such as Yimou Zhang and Kaige Chen.Back then, he invited Ronald to have dinner with him in the northwest. Now that he suddenly saw him in Los Angeles, Ronald was also very surprised.

"Director Luo? Were you at the Oscars just now?"

Director Wu did not talk about his own affairs, but instead asked if Ronald was at the Oscars just now.There is also a bit of discouragement in the words...

"I did just come out of the awards show and wanted to find a video tape of the Best Foreign Language Film 'Cinema Paradiso'. Is this your store?" Ronald said what he was looking for without asking any more questions. Film.

"I do, but no one rents the movie. I put it in the attic in the back so I can watch it myself. I'll get it for you..."

Director Wu was still very sincere and went to search in the back.

"Hey..." Ronald didn't stop him and had to pull the clerk in front of him. His daughter asked, "Why did your dad come to Los Angeles?"

"I came here to study in college, and he...he can be regarded as accompanying me..."

Director Wu’s daughter is called Yanyan, and she told Ronald about his father’s experience...

He is no longer the director of West Film Studio, he is just a father who accompanies students. He has opened a video rental store in Los Angeles based on his own expertise. He also has many regular customers who are movie fans looking for movie tapes that ordinary video tape owners will not buy.

In addition, he is also good at cooking and sells dumplings. In addition to Chinese, many white and black people also buy here.

In short, if they were not acquaintances, no one would know that this video rental store owner, who was quick and hospitable, was once a director.

Only during the Golden Globe and Oscar awards shows, he would be in a daze by himself for a long time.Yanyan also specially asked for leave to come back and help her father look after the store.She knew that these days were the most difficult times for her father.

"Here, the video tape from Cinema Paradiso, the original version with very good quality. I have only watched it twice." Director Wu took out a video tape from the back, put it in the carton, and handed it to Ronald.

"Old Wu, I'm lucky to see you here. I've always had a big project, and I can't find the right person to help with it. Can you help me? Temporarily help me for a while, so that I can The project is launched without delaying your big business..." Ronald joked with a smile.

"You are a big director in Hollywood, and you still need my help?" Director Wu didn't quite believe it, thinking that Ronald might have taken pity on him and gave him a bowl of rice.He is a dignified man from the northwest. If the sky falls, I will bear it. If he comes to study with him now, will he lose one bite to eat?

"It really has to be you..."

Ronald took his time and made up some logic.

It turned out that when Ronald was editing classic Hollywood movies, he discovered that the old film copies were seriously damaged. He couldn't bear that no one would appreciate such classics, so he wanted to use his own funds to cooperate with Scorsese to restore some historical records. classic.

They want to use the "Ghost" special effects team and their latest developments in computer graphics to see if they can use it to repair scratches, mold and other problems on old films.This business not only does valuable work for the film industry, but it may not be a profitable business.

After all, these old movies are only outdated in quality and sound quality, not in plot and performance.At that time, it will be profitable to make video tapes and sell them, or sell them to TV stations, or even just take orders from the seven major studios for restoration...

Of course, many studios still have some negatives in-house, and the reprinted versions from the negatives are of the highest quality.But there are no negatives for many second-tier movies, and some of the movie copies that were burned during previous Hollywood campaigns.

Previously, in the 70s, many films were recycled as garbage to smelt metallic silver because the film contained silver nitrate.

Many lost films can only be slowly restored from some surviving original copies.

Ronald's staff here found a good source, which is university and military libraries.Generally speaking, copies of the movies shown at that time were left in universities and the military. These two places were definitely played less frequently and had relatively good preservation conditions. They both received government funding.

During these collection efforts, Ronald also found some Chinese-language films before the [-]s.At that time, there were more exchanges between China and the United States in the film industry than imagined.Some of these copies have been lost in China.

"How about you help me take a look at these old movies and save them?" Ronald said to Director Wu with a smile.

"Hey, this matter is really meaningful..." Director Wu couldn't refuse now, so he agreed.Ronald will give him a consulting contract and ask him to find and research the production years, directors and starring of those discourse films.

"Director Luo, you are still helping Chinese films in this matter..." Director Wu began to sigh.

"Gugugu...uh..." Ronald was embarrassed...

The awards show had just gone on for several hours, and Ronald hadn't eaten anything.Now I said something again in Director Wu's shop, which made my stomach growl in protest.

"You haven't eaten yet, I'll make some dumplings for you..." Director Wu happily went to work.

Not long after, a large plate of steaming beef dumplings was served. Ronald had just eaten a few bites when little Bud ran over from the car outside.

"Ronald, Diane called to say she had abdominal pain and her bodyguard had sent her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center."

Ronald had already made contact with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center near Beverly Hills and would go there once Diane was due to give birth.This high-end medical center does a good job in protecting privacy, has high-level obstetricians, and is close to home.

However, Ronald calculated that the due date was still more than a week away, but he did not expect that it would suddenly happen today.For a moment, he was in a trance...

"Brother, this is your first time as a father. When I had Yanyan, I was as happy as you and didn't know what to do."

"Ah, ah, what should I do?" Ronald didn't know how to express his feelings and started asking meaningless questions.

"Come on, this big brother of mine is confused. Let me go with you..." Director Wu smiled, put away the bowl, and pulled Ronald into the car.

When he arrived at the medical center, Ronald learned that Diane had been pushed into the delivery room. He was waiting in the lounge outside the door. Not knowing what to do, he sat down and stood up all of a sudden.

"Relax, I think my brother and sister are a blessing. I'm sure mother and son are safe..." Director Wu, despite his appearance, is actually quite delicate at heart.

Ronald had lost all sense of time. He felt as if several hours had passed. When he looked at his watch, it was only five minutes.Every time a person wearing doctor's clothes passed by, he would stand up to see if there was any news.

Finally, a female doctor came over and found Ronald, "You must be Mr. Li. Your wife is about to start labor. You and I will come..."

"Can I go stay with her?" Ronald felt subconsciously that his husband was waiting outside. "Of course, we are one of the first hospitals to allow relatives to accompany delivery..."

"Ronnie..." Diane felt much more at ease when she was lying on the bed as soon as she saw Ronald coming in.

"Diane", Ronald stepped forward and brushed her sweat-wet hair. "Relax, I'm here..."

"Don't relax, let's continue practicing the breathing rhythm, slow...slow...Push!" The doctor came over and continued to explain the essentials of breathing to Diane.

……

Finally, the next morning, Diane gave birth to a baby boy who weighed more than six pounds.The baby cries loudly.

Little Bud also came in to take a look, and Director Wu, who had been with Ronald all night, also took a look and repeatedly said that he was a powerful man with an unlimited future.

"Ah, thank you, Director Wu..." Ronald looked at the ugly face of the little baby whose eyes hadn't fully opened yet, and thought to himself that Director Wu didn't know how he could tell.The baby was taken in for a checkup, and Ronald asked little Bud to call his family quickly to report the news.Last night, Aunt Karen and Donna learned about Diane's admission to the hospital.

By the third day, Aunt Karen, Donna, and little Douglas had arrived at Ronald's home in Los Angeles.The whole family is very happy, this is the first child in this generation of the family.

"What, Mother Wang, do I follow Chinese custom to boil some red eggs and give them to Director Wu?" Ronald has now increased the salary of his maid, Mother Wang, a lot. She is very skilled in raising children and taking care of pregnant women.Aunt Karen also expressed admiration for her quick hands and feet.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to understand this, boss. Now many Chinese people are not having fun."

"I also found out about it from Xujiahui, hahaha..." Now Ronald would smile no matter what he said.

The moment I held my son up in the hospital that day, I seemed to be smiling from ear to ear. It seemed that his relationship with the world had deepened.The whole person feels like a big tree with deep roots.

No wonder the novels and TV series that reflect the history of black people in America are called "Roots." It seems that this feeling of looking at future generations is a common emotion.

"My boss, what are you going to call this young master?" Wang Ma began to ask.

"Hahaha..." Diane laughed as she lay on the bed.

That day in the hospital, the two discussed the child's name.Because that day happened to be the Oscar ceremony, Director Wu suggested to them that they should just call it Oscar...

This made Ronald very embarrassed.The tradition on the East Coast is to either find a name among the elders in the family, or choose the name of a respected person. It is said that the name Oscar is also suitable.

But Ronald was nominated for Best Director twice, and everyone in Hollywood knew that he was not selected. If the child was named Oscar, it would become industry-wide gossip.

It would be fine if he won an Oscar in the future, but if he didn't, it would become a joke.Therefore, Ronald did not express his position and decided to discuss it later after going home.Director Wu thought he had spoken to Ronald's heart, so he called the baby Oscar.

Both Ronald and Diane were confused. After discussing for a long time, Ronald decided to name the baby after the benefactor who brought him into the industry, Roger Coleman.

Of course, this son still has to follow the tradition of the Li Enfu family, and his middle Christian name will continue to be the name of the hostess of his host family after he arrived in the United States.

Therefore, in the statement they submitted to the California Department of Public Health, the child, who inherited his father's dark blond hair and his mother's dark brown eyes, would be called Roger V. Lee.

……

"Ronald San..."

Akira Kurosawa, who is still living in Ronald's house, is about to return to China.According to Japanese etiquette, he wrapped a coin in a red and white envelope as a congratulatory gift for Diane's son.

Originally, due to Japanese habits, they did not visit the mother and son shortly after giving birth, but Ronald refused to give up the opportunity to let the master consecrate his son, saying that the hospital's examination was all normal, and if Kurosawa could see him My own son, that is the greatest honor.

Kurosawa couldn't resist and came to visit.He was very moved when he saw little Roger sleeping soundly in his little bed.As you get older, you have a special love for new life.

"Click..." Ronald himself took a photo of Akira Kurosawa and Roger Jr. next to him, then picked up the Sony video recorder and started shooting the video.

"Gudu..." Little Roger was attracted by the sound of the camera, opened his eyes, and turned to the camera.

Kurosawa happened to be very close to him. Little Roger stared at Kurosawa's face and became very quiet. After a while, he seemed to see a smiling face and burst into laughter.

"This child has a fate with movies. He knows how to read the camera at such a young age, hahaha..."

Kurosawa was so amused by Little Roger that he laughed like Maitreya Buddha.

He looked at Ronald and said, "You are also lucky. Your son has a fate with movies, unlike my son..." The daughter next to him, Kazuko, translated to Ronald with a wry smile.

Kurosawa's son has no talent for movies and can only rely on his father's reputation to get around in the film industry.His daughter Kazuko, on the other hand, seems to have a talent as a film costume designer.

If anyone in the Kurosawa family could inherit the film business, it would be their daughter who is more likely.

After the two looked at the children, they said goodbye to Ronald. Ronald sent them to the guest room. In the corridor, Kurosawa suddenly turned around and said to Ronald:
"Ronald Sand, I originally had the opportunity to come to Hollywood to direct, but my creative methods were really different from Hollywood, so I didn't succeed.

I don’t know if it’s my problem or Hollywood’s problem, but this script still retains my signature...

My Son Is Not a Thing, I would love for this movie to be made by a Hollywood director who understood my film philosophy, and I thought about it, George and Steven, both of them are so absorbed in their own worlds, could you Help me fulfill this wish? "

"Huh?" Ronald knew that Kurosawa was talking about the "Runaway Train" directed by Russian director Konchalovsky for Minahan Golan.The script is indeed signed by Akira Kurosawa.

But what does Kurosawa mean when he says this to himself now?He still wants to make a remake?Does he still have the copyright and production rights to the script?
"Okay, I will try my best to facilitate this..." Facing this 80-year-old director who had just made an assertion about his son, Ronald decided to agree first.As for the details, we will discuss them at that time.