Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Scorsese was very depressed, so Ronald invited him to come to his house to relax. After eating and drinking a lot of delicious food, his mood improved slightly.

Ronald has extensive experience in trying to win an award after being nominated. The more I think about it, the more disappointed I become. If you don’t think about it at all, you won’t be disappointed. If you get lucky, you can also experience the feeling of being overjoyed.

Besides, there are many prelude awards to the Oscars, and Scorsese won many other minor awards besides losing to the Directors Guild.

And Kevin Costner, more of an award for Best Actor in Public Relations. Both of them had a good opportunity to win awards for the first time in many years. They participated in all the awards non-stop, hoping to become more familiar with those members who have the right to vote.

Sometimes, the PR Oscars are similar to elections. If you appear around them a few times, they will naturally think of you when the time comes to vote.

After being comforted by Ronald and meeting the cute little Roger, Scorsese relaxed a little. No more swearing at the damn Jews.

In the next few days, Ronald did not go to the editing room to deal with "other people's money." Instead, he called Douglas Jr. and Donna every day on the wiretapping-proof line at home.

After Operation Desert Storm began, it seemed to be progressing very quickly. The 1st Cavalry Division and the 1st Infantry Division penetrated the Iraqi defense lines and widened the channels on the first day of ground operations.

Iraq's frontline troops seem vulnerable. And the Republican Guard, which the Soviet major general said was very powerful, did not perform well.

"Should we place a bet on our position? Why doesn't the price of crude oil seem to rise as expected?"

Ronald was scratching his head a little. The crude oil market had experienced a surge before Iraq invaded Kuwait because the international market was worried about crude oil production cuts.

But after the U.S. military stationed in Saudi Arabia, prices stabilized. Saudi Arabia and other Middle East oil-producing countries, with the mediation of America, took the initiative to increase production and kept prices stable. The expected increase in crude oil prices caused by the ground action did not occur.

"This is a one-time short-term business. We have to wait for the opportunity." Donna expressed her thoughts. She would rather lose the opportunity to make a small profit than put herself in a risky situation or not be able to continue the position when the big opportunity comes.

Little Douglas didn't have any opinions and just agreed with Donna's opinions. When Ronald saw this, he also felt that he was an amateur in speculation, so it was better not to interfere in his cousin's affairs. Her company's fund had a return rate of 55% last year, and even Douglas Jr. was submissive when it came to making money in front of Donna.

Ronald didn't want to argue with Donna. In fact, his own investment performance was not bad. Coca-Cola, his largest holding, had a stock split in 20, and its sales were also good. His holdings have risen by more than %.

Microsoft, another company that has also invested a lot, saw its stock price soar due to the huge sales of word and excel software last year. After the stock split, the stock price almost rose to the level before the stock split.

Ronald made a huge profit of more than 70% from this investment. This kind of joy of making money is completely different from the income from making movies. Movies require a lot of effort and time, as well as some luck and courage to reap the rewards.

But if you buy a stock like Microsoft and just sleep there all the time, you can add huge amounts of wealth to yourself every day.

Taking advantage of T&T’s new tax law, the tax benefits for stock investment have not been abolished. Ronald simply invested some of the movie income he made this year into buying a lot of additional Microsoft stocks.

Ronald didn't tell anyone about this money-making news, but after checking it out with his accountant, he was secretly happy and grinning often. Diane thought Ronald was very confident about the Oscar, so she took the opportunity to secretly ask him, what award did he have so much confidence in?

"Oh, I think Whoopi Goldberg's affair is still going on, so there's a good chance." Ronald quickly fooled him, "You don't know, Whoopi won the best supporting actress award in all Outposts." Got it. Almost one person won more than half of all the awards, and I was almost a professional director who won a supporting actress award.

"Oh?" Diane did the math, and sure enough, Ronald had won the Best Supporting Actress award for several consecutive movies. She looked at Ronald helplessly and said nothing.

"I haven't decided yet whether to apply for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress for other people's money. We'll see what happens after it's released." Ronald understood what Diane was thinking and expressed his thoughts. .

Supporting female actors have fewer opportunities to shine in today's Hollywood movies, and it's easier to get nominated. But competing with actresses of all ages makes it difficult to win. The leading actress award will face a fierce nomination battle, but after being shortlisted, everyone will split the votes more seriously, and it is possible to win the award in an upset (for example, this is the case with Cher winning the award).

"I don't have any extravagant expectations. I just want a nomination to satisfy my father's expectations." Diane replied with a smile. She has been an actor since she was a child and is very aware of the saying that nominations depend on strength and winning awards depends on luck.

……

Ronald continued to pay attention to the progress of Operation Desert Storm every day. On the third day, the 1st Cavalry Division and the 1st Infantry Division had opened a breakthrough in the opponent's position and devoted all their strength.

The Soviet Major General repeatedly said on TV that the elite Republican Guard did not appear, there was no counterattack against the coalition forces, and there was no effective artillery or aircraft counterattack. Everything was under the control of the coalition forces.

The plan for market speculation has been postponed again. Without accidents, there will be no opportunity for speculation. Ronald had no choice but to continue waiting patiently.

Fortunately, it's not all good news, as The Silence of the Lambs continues to top the weekend box office charts. This movie seems to be very popular with the audience, and Operation Desert Storm has absolutely none of the World War II plot that people like to watch. For example, the opponent's counterattack was heroically repelled by our side. Or a lone hero saves the company, and the aircraft carrier fleet fights back to defeat the Japanese combined fleet.

On the other hand, there was no negative news like the Vietnam War. There was no news about the fallen soldiers on the front, and there were no photos or videos of the returned body bags in newspapers and TV.

Since the Vietnam War, the federal wartime press law has been revised, and many reports must be approved by the US military press officer before they can be broadcast. Both CUU and ABC have the same video clips.

Some multiple rocket launchers swish and fire their rockets, and then a voiceover says the other side is taking heavy damage.

Only the shot of an Apache helicopter firing weapons made Ronald very interested. "Firebird," which was released to take advantage of the U.S. military's operations, also received very good results.

The plot that cannot be seen on TV has been completed in the movie. When a helicopter was shot down, the beauty in military uniform removed the Stinger missile and shot down the opponent's fighter jet. What a lone hero operating a helicopter, a dry land puller to get over the enemy's helicopter, and then shoot him down.

Although the plot is old-fashioned, it's just a "Top Gun" plot in a different skin and placed on a helicopter. But when the audience is faced with a live broadcast where the yellow sand is rolling in and they can’t see anything clearly, don’t they have to come to the cinema to have some fun?

For a time, Daydream's movie temporarily occupied two of the top three spots on the box office list. Daydream employees received another bonus...

"Hey guys, did you defeat the Iraqis?" On the fourth day, the news in CUU was wrong. Ground troops began to launch from the breach, conduct long-distance raids, and outflank the Iraqi army's rear strongholds.

Both the National Defense Forces on the front line and the Republican Guard waiting behind them lost their fighting spirit.

Many conscripts in the National Defense Force surrendered on the spot and waited for the US military to take them over. The Republican Guards in the rear drove advanced Soviet tanks one by one and ran toward Iraq.

The three most elite guard divisions of Tawakelna, Medina and Hamrabi were beaten to the point of losing their armor. Hunted by coalition attack aircraft along the way, there were more than 600 tanks in total, and only a few of them were able to successfully escape from the highway connecting Iraq to Kuwait.

According to news reports, the footage was delayed for one day. The host pointed to the road full of debris and named it "Highway of Death"

Two American divisions in the coalition forces and the British 7th Armored Division pursued along the road. On the other side, the 101st Airborne Division launched an airborne raid into the Iraqi rear, using 400 armed helicopters to penetrate 150 miles into Iraqi territory, cutting off the Iraqi army's retreat in one fell swoop.

"You seem to have won, right?" Billy Crystal was also stunned. He came to discuss the matter with Ronald. The two men were attracted to the CUU live broadcast without a few words of conversation. They sat in front of the TV like children, watching the war footage with relish.

"Then they must have won. The airborne division fought brilliantly. The Iraqis put their main force on the Kuwait border. Basra was not prepared at all. Hahahaha..." Ronald danced, and on the map on the TV, there was a void. He rowed as if he was commanding the troops.

Billy Crystal also drew an arc in vain, "Cut in from here, just like Tyson's left hook, finding a gap, it is fatal all at once..."

"Don't mention it, that guy is dead now."

The two made boxing gestures twice, sat down and continued talking about business. Billy Crystal did a great job hosting the Oscars last year. Originally, the producers wanted to find someone else this year, but audience feedback still favored him. So there was a change of scenery, and Billy was asked to be the host of this year's Oscars.

This year Ronald has no chance to produce because several of his films were shortlisted for nominations. Therefore, in order to avoid suspicion, he cannot participate in the production of the Oscars.

"Do you think it's okay for me to tease you like this?"

Billy Crystal needs to be the host. In fact, it is similar to a stand-up comedy talk show. He needs to make fun of the guests on the scene. But he couldn't go too far, so he had to discuss the scale with the person he was ridiculing.

"Okay, okay, as long as you don't make fun of my wife." Ronald saw that there was nothing wrong with it. Anyway, I didn't get a Best Director nomination this year, so I won't be angry no matter how much you tease me.

"Why, you still want to invite Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster?" When Ronald saw it, he realized that the heroes and heroines of "The Silence of the Lambs" produced by him were among the people he was teasing.

"They are so popular now, how can we not invite them? Hey, actually you are at a disadvantage." Billy Crystal also felt regretful. If the popularity of this movie had been released in December last year, it would have won an award now. Popular.

"Stop talking, how did I know it could be so popular?" Ronald thought to himself, if I knew the quality of this movie was so high and the audience liked it so much, I would have fought to the death...

It also has to be postponed until the end of this year. Dances with Wolves has a good nomination score, so why would it be bad if two movies fight.

"How's that new movie you talked about last time?" Ronald asked about Billy Crystal's project.

"I have already found the protagonists to play together, three white-collar workers in the city. They go on vacation together every year. This time they went to the ranch in the west to experience the life of a real cowboy."

"Comedy?" Ronald knew as soon as he heard it that this was a comedy technique using an identity crisis.

"I still like comedy..." That's where Billy Crystal's interest lies. Although he has been successful in romantic comedies, his appearance is not that of a typical romantic movie actor.

"Do you need any heroines there?" Ronald thought of Diane's nomination.

"It lacks a beautiful heroine, but she has very few roles. The nominal heroine actually has less roles than the supporting characters. This is actually a movie with a traditional western structure. I chose the worst villain in the western movies of that year. Actor Jack Palance was invited."

"Oh, it's him..." Ronald remembered this face that had played the villain in countless Western movies and looked very evil.

Ronald asked a few more questions. Since the heroine is a role that rarely appears, there is no point in casting Diane. But Helen might be interested. She likes to act with actors best.

Jack Palance is a veteran villain who has played classic Western films such as "Into the Wild". He also played a role in Batman before, and his sword is still old, which is impressive.

"I have an actor here who I would like to recommend to you for an audition. She is very beautiful and would be perfect for a role in a western movie." Ronald recommended Helen Slater to him.

Billy Crystal heard that it was Helen who had starred in two blockbuster comedies. He liked it very much and immediately agreed to arrange an audition.

Another day passed, Ronald's driver, Little Bud, honked the horn several times at the gate, "Didi..."

"It's coming, stop fucking pushing..."

Ronald's roar came from above.

Just today, the Commander-in-Chief announced the end of coalition military operations in Kuwait and Iraq. No further penetration into Iraq. He said that the original goal of the coalition was to restore Kuwaiti territory and expel the Iraqi army, and that goal had been achieved. We did not intend to invade Iraq and overthrow the rule of madmen.

Who would have thought that the arduous battle predicted by the Soviet major general before the war started ended in just four days?

This time, I was caught off guard. The war ended quickly. The main oil-producing areas were not affected by the war. Although Kuwait lost most of its oil wells, when the Iraqi army retreated, many oil wells were ignited and production would not be restored for a while. The increased production by Saudi Arabia and other countries has completely covered this damaged output.

And not entering Iraq means that Iraq, a major producer in the crude oil market, will not have problems. There are absolutely no opportunities for speculation in the crude oil market.

The opportunity that Ronald and Douglas Jr. had coveted for a long time was just gone...

"Ronald, if you don't go to the airport, won't Director Huang be left alone? Why don't you just watch TV here and I'll pick him up for you?" Diane also came in. Today, Ronald was supposed to go to the airport to pick up a professional. Director Huang who came here to inspect Hollywood.

"Oh, I'll go, I'll go. I originally asked Xiao Yan to go to the airport, so he can't lose it." Seeing this, Ronald had no choice but to hang up the phone and get in the car. He was still muttering along the way, "Why is it so useless? Didn't you say that Iraq can hold on for a long time? The commander-in-chief is also true. Why didn't he fight when the gate was opened?"

"Director Huang, Director Luo is here." Xiao Yan was sharp-eyed at the airport and saw Ronald coming over.

"Sorry, sorry, I had something urgent to do and kept you waiting." Ronald saw Director Huang and immediately came up to say hello.

"Director Ronaldinho is a very busy man. I watched several of your new films in Xujiahui. They are very exciting films."

"Haha, Director Huang, I also found a video tape to watch your new TV series. It's very charming... Let's go, let's catch up with you at my house..."

"Okay, let me say hello to that old lady." Director Huang went back to say goodbye to a fat Chinese lady.

"Who is this?" Ronald asked Xiao Yan.

"Hi, I met at the airport. He said he was farming in his hometown in Shandong. He didn't speak a word of English and so he came here to visit relatives."

"Oh..." Ronald didn't take it seriously. America is a country of immigrants, and there are many adventurers who come here just for a dream.

"You're staying at my house today, and I've prepared Chinese food. The Oscars are coming soon, and Hollywood is very busy. Director Huang wants to see where he wants to go, and I'll have someone make arrangements for you."

Director Huang's visit this time is an opportunity for inspection. Sino-US relations began to pick up this year, and Ronald sent her an invitation letter so that she could come to Los Angeles and have more contacts with the filmmakers here.

"I am a guest and a host as you please... I have only one wish if you want to give me your thoughts." Director Huang came to accept Ronald's invitation, and by the way, he could also see his old friends from his father's generation.

"What wish?" Ronald thought to himself. Could it be that he wanted to go to the Oscar Awards party? This year's awards show went to the Temple Theater again. The venue was much larger than last year's, and you could still get a ticket.

"I just have one wish. I really want to see Gregory Peck..."

"Huh?" Ronald turned his head in surprise, looked at Director Huang, and saw the smile on her face. Unexpectedly, Gregory Peck is also an idol for middle-aged and elderly women in China.