Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1239 Dragon Prince and White Beauty

"We love Susan, we love Susan!"

In the House of Representatives election held at the end of the year, Susan Molinari replaced her father who resigned. With 59% of the vote, she undisputedly won the Donkey Party's Robert Gigante and was elected to the th District of New York State. Rep.

This is a rare victory for the Xiang Party this year. Of the three districts New York State lost as a result of the census, two were held by Elephant Party representatives. In several districts in Queens, some representatives of the Elephant Party lost and were flipped blue, while others were able to win. Therefore, die-hard Elephant Party loyalists from all over New York State came to Lower Manhattan to congratulate this Elephant Party's star of hope.

"Congratulations..." Ronald also stepped forward to shake hands with her. Susan Molinari smiled brightly at Ronald and Douglas Jr., and such a sponsor was a godsend.

Susan's father Molinari Sr. retired from Congress and participated in the election of the new head of Staten Island government. In this way, he voluntarily quit Manhattan and returned to Staten Island, which no one cared about, to become the island's leader. It would be hard to kill all the donkey gangs in New York.

Douglas Jr. sighed as the new congressman began to address voters. "Hey, the current redistricting is very unfavorable to us. I don't know if the 14th District will no longer have the fat in Lower Manhattan."

"I think Susan Molinari seems to be very popular among voters near Wall Street, but not even the voters in Staten Island like her that much." Donna interjected from the side.

"Susan is more moderate than her father, and also supports women's abortion rights and the petty hobbies of some urban voters. In fact, she is more suitable for the constituency in Manhattan. People here like her..."

The speaker was Roger Ailes, a media expert brought in from Washington by Ronald and George Jr. and his father's 1988 election consultant.

This time, First Lady Barbara used the commander's personal connections to intimidate Ovitz to stop all actions against his son (in fact, Ovitz was just unhappy that Ronald had stolen his business). Although the effect was good, it also made Barbara have some opinions about her eldest son afterwards.

So little George simply left his father's protection and completely broke away from the re-election team that would begin soon. Roger Ailes was his adviser in preparing for his political career. This time I came to New York to campaign for the election, which was like using a sledgehammer to crack walnuts.

"You mean?" Ronald heard the implication of Roger Ailes' words.

"Yes, New York State is now controlled from top to bottom by the Donkey Party. It is difficult for the state Senate alone to stop them from redistricting according to their own wishes. Instead of waiting, it is better to take the initiative..." Roger Ailes said in A map spanning Staten Island and Lower Manhattan was found on Representative Susan's campaign banner and handed to Ronald.

"Huh? Do we have any suitable candidates on Staten Island?" Ronald looked at Little Douglas.

"Molinari has an assistant who is also of Italian descent. In addition, there is an entrepreneur with a small amount of Indian ancestry who has the idea of ​​​​entering politics." Douglas Jr. knows the people on Staten Island well.

"You take a look and decide. I believe in your vision. New York is becoming more diverse, which seems to be a trend that is difficult to stop."

Little Douglas smiled and nodded, he understood what Ronald meant. Anyway, in the Staten Island election, they are very sure to select the right candidate. After the redistricting, they might as well let Representative Susan go to Manhattan to try. And the old Molinari became the chief executive of Staten Island, and the congressman was from his family, which was not a good thing. The white entrepreneur with some Indian ancestry was obviously more suitable to take over the vacancy left by her daughter.

But this will only happen two years later. Now it's just the two rich people who are getting ready.

……

"This is Mr. Xu Ligong, who is responsible for the investment of the Information Bureau. James Shams will be the designated producer for Daydream..."

Ang Lee's new film "The Pusher" has begun preparations. He also quit the crew of "Other People's Money" and started to work on his own affairs.

This time in New York, he happened to bring the producers representing both parties' investments to report on the many preparations for the new film.

"Do all these actors need to be hired from your hometown and Xiangjiang? In fact, there are many Chinese actors in America who can act."

James Shamus raised some questions about Xu Ligong, who has now very much stepped into the role of producer.

"Director Song's instructions cannot be used by... people."

"Humph……"

Joint venture filming is so troublesome, and it is difficult for both parties to reach consensus on many messy things. This movie is mainly in Chinese dialogue, so it will definitely need the box office market and video tape market there. Director Song invested in the movie with selfish motives, hoping to win awards to embellish his political achievements.

Many Chinese actors in America have their hearts set on the other side, or have come from the other side. Therefore, Xu Ligong, who represented the investors, was determined to use actors from his hometown and Hong Kong.

However, those supporting actors and the behind-the-scenes staff have nothing to do with it. They are not eye-catching anyway. As long as there are Chinese faces, the crew will be recruited. For a time, "Push Hands" became a big gathering of Chinese-Americans who hang out in Hollywood and Broadway. No matter what your origin, what your attitude is, whether it is filmed by Chinese-Americans, or the story of Chinese-Americans in America, this alone can make them willing to serve.

Since the end of World War II, Hollywood has not produced stories about Chinese Americans for many years. These Chinese actors don't care about remuneration. As long as they can contribute to the film, let this new director, who has a master's degree at New York University and works in the company of a big Hollywood director, make his debut. How many Chinese people can he support in the future?

Compared with them, the small thoughts of some producers appear to be very narrow-minded.

Ronald didn't want to arbitrate such a troublesome matter, so he agreed with them directly, and Ang Lee would have to approve it. The expenses were negotiated by James Shams, and the check was signed by Ang Lee. Finally, the details of the expenditure were faxed to Ang Lee's hometown for Xu Ligong's review.

"Well, I don't know how Uncle Lang is doing now. I met him ten years ago and he fit the role at that time..." It was Ang Lee's first time as a director and he was not sure. He was a little hesitant.

"You just let him fly to audition. You have to watch it in person." Ronald thought to himself, you are the director now, the crew must listen to you, and this movie is so valued among Chinese people, sitting across Foreign planes came to audition, and they were all very willing.

Ang Lee woke up from a dream. He was not quite used to the role of speaker, but he immediately felt it. I also immediately booked a flight ticket for Wang Lai from Xiangjiang. If the audition is suitable, I will film it. If not, I will just treat it as a trip to the United States.

When Xu Ligong saw that the two elderly protagonists had auditioned as he expected, he turned around and went out to make an overseas phone call to Director Song to report.

"The hero's son and daughter-in-law are a little troublesome, look at it." As a director, Ang Lee attaches great importance to his debut film. He hopes that all casting choices will be perfect.

Lao Zhu, played by Lang Xiong, came to America to see his son, but his daughter-in-law is a foreigner. Although the foreign daughter-in-law still respects him, the cultural gap still caused problems for them.

Lao Zhu felt that his son did not respect him, so he eventually ran away from home and went to wash dishes in a Chinese restaurant. He was bullied to the extreme by the restaurant owner. Later, he used the unique skills of Tai Chi Push Hands, and even the NYPD was unable to do anything about him.

In this kind of cultural conflict scene, the most important thing is for the actors to make the audience look like the characters at a glance. Ang Lee is not sure himself, so he still needs Ronald to check.

After Xu Ligong left, Ang Lee came up with his favorite candidate to play his son.

"Huh? Why does this guy look familiar? Has he acted in a Hollywood movie before?" Ronald felt a sense of familiarity when he saw the audition photo of this handsome young boy. The actor looks very handsome, with a kind of classical Chinese handsome temperament. The best thing is that he also has a similar face shape and facial features to the actor Lang Xiong who plays Lao Zhu.

"No, this is an actor from the Mainland. His name is Wang Bozhao. He has never acted in Hollywood." Ang Lee waved his hands repeatedly. The problem lies here. There is a price for receiving the tutoring money from the Information Bureau, that is, the main role cannot be used. Actors over there.

"What do you think?" Ronald doesn't care about this. In fact, Xu Ligong is not satisfied with withdrawing capital, so I'll take care of it. In the future, I will go back to the mainland to find connections and see if it can be released. The key is whether Ang Lee is satisfied with him.

"I found this from an interview with Chinese elites published in a Chinese magazine. His name is Wang Bozhao. I have tried acting. He is the best and he looks similar." "Then just use it... don't worry about the budget. ." Ronald didn't take it seriously. He suddenly thought of something. In Hollywood, if you don't want to sign your name, you can still use a pseudonym for filming. Anyway, the Information Bureau will not care so much about this kind of thing. If you change your name, everyone will think about it. If you know it well and fool it, it will be over.

"Ask him if he would like to change his name and act." Ronald turned over the audition photo. He must have seen this man somewhere.

The resume on the back of the audition photo showed zero experience in Hollywood, but he had made several movies in the mainland, including Princess Wencheng, which were all important movies. It seems that the acting skills are good.

"Journey to the West", there was also a line on the resume that said the TV series he had participated in. Ronald looked at the name and felt a little strange. Perhaps because the trend in Hollywood looks down on the acting skills of actors filming TV series, this actor named Wang Bozhao also put this experience at the end.

"Shxt!" Ronald suddenly realized. Isn't this the "Journey to the West" that was shown on the TV station when he lived in Xujiahui Film Factory? No wonder he looked familiar, this man had also played the role of a dragon prince or something.

"Then let's take him. I've seen his TV series and he's pretty good."

With Ronald's guarantee, Ang Lee became more confident in himself, "This is the candidate for a foreign wife, take a look."

"It doesn't look good at all..." Ronald muttered to himself as he picked up the stack of audition photos. Because the character is Caucasian and speaks English, the range of choices is much wider.

But I don’t know why. Maybe Ang Lee’s aesthetics are a little different from white people. In Ronald’s opinion, the actors he selected were not good-looking enough, and it was impossible for them to play the leading role in a movie.

"I like this one better. The acting is good and there is no discrimination against Chinese Americans. I'm not saying that all white people will discriminate against Chinese Americans, but there are always some. When it comes to cooperation, it's better to choose someone with an open attitude." Ang Lee quickly explained. In order to prevent Ronald from being unhappy, his brows furrowed when he looked at him.

Oops, Ang Lee mentally gave himself a chance to say something bad about white discrimination.

"You're not good at casting, Ang. You have to choose someone beautiful. If not, the audience won't buy tickets."

Ronald was dissatisfied when he saw this actor named Sneijder. He looked pretty good to ordinary people, but when the audience goes to the cinema, you give them this? Definitely not.

"Huh? But when we Chinese come to America, we generally can't marry very beautiful white people. I have already beautified this level of beauty. If it is too beautiful, it will not be realistic." Ang Lee explained Ichiban.

"I'll tell you a secret..." Ronald made a low expression, approached Ang Lee, and then said in his ear, "Do you know what is the most important thing about being a director in Hollywood?"

"Huh?" Ang Lee was at a loss. Hearing what Ronald said, he thought it was a magic secret book, so he quickly cheered up and paid attention.

"It's all about making money! Make money every time so you can make the movies you want to make, however you want to make them."

"This..." Ang Lee didn't expect this to be the secret code and suddenly smiled bitterly.

"In your movie, the only character that white people can identify with is the foreign daughter-in-law. So not only do you have to find the most beautiful actress, but you also have to add scenes to her. Otherwise, what will the American audience come to see?"

"Oh..." Ang Lee quickly wrote down what Ronald said. When the time comes, he will find James Shams and add a few scenes for the foreign wife in the script.

"Also, did you know? Almost everyone will beautify their appearance. When people look in the mirror, they will automatically filter out the unsightly parts. So you don't have to worry about the audience disapproving of foreign wives. In their eyes, I'm afraid You will think this is very normal.”

"But we Chinese in the United States all know that this is impossible."

"Hey, couldn't you add some background to Wang Bozhao's character? He's a computer engineer, right? Let him take stock options in the company and become a millionaire in a few years. What white beauty wouldn't like to marry such a person? Besides, Chinese people in the United States probably also want to marry a beautiful wife. Your ideas are all from the perspective of the creator, and the audience likes beautiful women."

"That's true..." Ang Lee was convinced by Ronald. In fact, if Ronald forcefully chooses a beautiful woman, he can't help it. He can accept it by convincing people with reason.

"I'll go to Richard and ask him to recommend some beautiful actresses." Ang Lee figured it out and decided to find a beautiful white man to play the role of the foreign wife.

"Ahem, what about that? Just make a phone call and say it's a role I recommend..."

Ronald wrote Helen Slater's phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Ang Lee. Anyway, this movie is about cultural integration. Helen went to China to shoot a documentary in the early stage and is interested in Chinese culture. The subject matter is something he likes...

Moreover, James Shams has plans to take the film to the European film festival market. It would be nice to show it and show his face. Ronald felt that Helen Slater would definitely like this kind of recognition of her artistic ability by Europeans.

"Huh?" Ang Lee looked at the name on the note. He knew that this was a beautiful woman who had played Supergirl. Wondering if it might be too pretty?

Looking at Ronald's handwriting again, I realized that it was recommended by my boss, so I gritted my teeth and agreed.

……

"Uh-huh...little Roger!"

Aunt Karen happily teased Ronald's son. There is no need for her to host this year's Christmas dinner. Her chef husband has taken over all the kitchen duties and Aunt Karen now just wants to play with little Roger.

"Your Dances with Wolves was really good. I went to the cinema to watch it twice." Donna chatted with Ronald on the side.

"Did you go with Doug?"

"I can go by myself..." Donna ignored Ronald's teasing and talked a lot about how good the movie was.

"Ronnie, your phone number." Diane called him to answer the phone. "It's from Lawyer Lindsay."

"Hello..." Ronald picked up the receiver.

"Ronald, Ivar's Seafood Restaurant has proposed an out-of-court settlement, and they took the initiative to remove the Clam Man's advertisement."

"These people are very cunning. They have almost completed their advertisements, and now they are taking them down. They have already received the attention they deserve. Can we accept an out-of-court settlement and let them pay money?"

"Of course, but I advise you to accept the settlement. Firstly, you can show your generosity. Secondly... the owner of the restaurant was also encouraged to do this. He said that if you are willing to reconcile, he will bring down the person behind it. Bite it out.”

"I almost have an idea of ​​who is inciting them. But you are right, there is no need to kill everyone, otherwise the audience's sympathy for us being bullied will be offset. Now it is they who encourage our friends to go to the cinema to support us. Watch Dances with Wolves.”

(End of this chapter)