Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 128 Italian TV in New York
"To me, she is not suitable for singing the jazz music invented by us black people." Spike pointed to the problem of music style, "She should sing the pop music of your white singer Karen Carpenter."

"Yes, Helen's vocal range is a bit narrower, which is actually suitable for Carpenter's songs." Photographer Dixon also said, "She sings black songs with a large vocal range. In fact, she has to mobilize her body to sing in order to sing with strength in the high register. , but in that case, Helen's body will be tense and not relaxed enough, and her true colors will not come out."

Ronald thought for a while, and it seemed to be the case, "Well, the next time I ask her to sing Carpenter's song, and you record it quietly during Helen's rehearsal, I always feel that she is doing it on purpose."

"Helen, can you sing Carpenter's songs?" Ronald walked to the piano and asked Helen who returned to the piano bench after a break through the piano.

"Of course, she's my favorite singer."

"Sing a song of hers and find out how you feel."

"Okay, which one do you want to hear?" Helen was obviously a huge Karen Carpenter fan.

"Sing the song your heart wants to sing most right now," Ronald said.

"Why do birds suddenly appear
Whenever you are around?
Just like me, they crave
Close to you

why stars fall from the sky
whenever you walk by?

Just like me, they crave
Close to you"

Helen played the piano and sang the old Karen Carpenter song "Close to You."

Cameraman Dickinson gave Ronald a wink to indicate that the rehearsal footage had been recorded.

"Okay, very good, you just sing with that feeling. Don't lean in the direction of jazz."

"Recording? Camera? Action!"

……

This time the effect is much better than before.

After Ronald sent Helen and Darcy out of the gate of Lincoln Center, and asked Darcy to drive her home.Ronald quickly ran into the shooting scene, "Dickinson, Dickinson, let me see, how is that Carpenter song recorded?"

The photographer Dickinson called up the playback, and Ronald took a closer look. The resolution of the black-and-white picture was very low, and there was some flickering, but Helen's body posture in the picture did relax a lot, and she sang her favorite song. Emotions are also expressed more abundantly and naturally.

"Just use this one? Tomorrow, I will make up the catchphrase that Helen said to the camera."

"The script is jazz, of course you can ask them to change it." Spike Lee knew some of Helen's background, her father was the third most powerful executive in a national television station.

"Karen Carpenter's song, cover copyright is not cheap, right?" Ronald thought of the issue of cover copyright again.

Spike and Dickinson looked at each other. They didn't know the cost of quoting the copyright of the song in the movie or in the advertisement.

Ronald, who consciously asked the wrong person, waved his hand and simply didn't think about these questions.Show Gerald both the Jazz and the Carpenter versions when the cut is done, and let them worry about these things.

……

"Because Chewels taste better!" Helen received the new chewing gum handed to her by Spike, "woke up" from the frozen pose, and uttered the slogan.

The second day's shooting was still stumbling, Helen Slater always had a tendency to perform deliberately, Ronald still used the old method, letting Dickinson secretly film during rehearsals, and Helen behaved more naturally during rehearsals.

Ronald began to truly understand the director's troubles. The performance of actors is unpredictable, and living people cannot press a button like a machine to have an expected feedback.

No wonder Cameron was on the set of "High School of Rock" and always rushed to be next to the director to see how he tuned, inspired, and corrected the actors' performances.He has long discovered the biggest challenge of director work, and consciously strengthens his studies.

After filming was complete, Ronald asked Spike Lee to go back and cut out two versions of Helen playing, one for jazz and one for Carpenter's "Closer to You."For consideration by Helen's father and Darcy Maguire.

As for Ronald, it's his turn to be the escort today, sending Helen to a party with Ingrid Bergman's daughter Pia.Her father, Gerald, will also be here today.

"We have to go to CBS to pick up Ms. Bergman's daughter first." Helen sat in the co-pilot and said to Ronald after putting on her seat belt.

"Which one?" Ronald didn't want to make the same mistake as last time.

"Hahaha." Helen also remembered the funny story when he was at Pia's house last time, did not know that Isabella was Bergman's daughter, but said that she could play the role of Bergman's daughter.

"It's Isabella." Helen replied, "It's not at the Blackstone Building, the headquarters of CBS. Let's go to Mulberry Street."

"Isabella works at CBS with her sister?" Ronald turned to Little Italy.

"No, she's an anchorwoman for a funny news show on a small Italian-language TV station."

"Funny, news, how are these two words connected?"

"Hahaha, I found that you can always find humor in life, Ronald." Helen kept laughing again.

"It may also be that your sense of humor is low." Ronald complained in a low voice.

"They're a small TV station whose primary subscribers are the residents of Little Italy, and the show is a rerun of the CBS weekly news in Italian, with some Italian jokes in it."

"Do you understand Italian?" Ronald looked left and right at the destination Parker Building.

Mulberry means mulberry tree, and the whole street is named after a mulberry tree at a five-fork intersection.This is the junction of Little Italy and Chinatown. On one side, Italians are communicating loudly (arguing) with their five fingers together and palms up.

On the other side is an old man doing Tai Chi leisurely in Chinatown.Wearing a uniform Mulan costume, the aunt is dancing with a folding fan in her hand.

"I don't understand. I heard what Isabella said. But every time I come here, I am amazed by New York's cultural diversity and tolerance." Helen also likes this kind of contrasting picture.

"Yeah, maybe we can make a movie to reflect it."

Ronald parked the car, and the two walked into the dilapidated Parker Building, and walked up two flights of stairs. The unit facing them was a yellow wooden door with a sign "Radiotelevisione italiana" hanging on it—— Italian Radio Television.

Helen knocked on the door and entered.

"Oh, that's the contact point of Radio Italia in the United States, or a sub-station." Isabella had just finished broadcasting "L'altra Domenica", which means "Another Sunday".She answered Ronald's question about why this humble studio had such a big name.

Italy's economic development is not as good as that of America, and the state-run institutions have less funding and are relatively poor.This Italian radio station is based in a community station in Little Italy, Manhattan, New York.They themselves are a station of the CBS broadcast network.

"Oh, Isabella..." An Italian man with a receding hairline came out of the studio and quickly spoke a string of Italian to Isabella.

Ronald and Helen looked at each other, unable to understand.

"Roberto, these are two young friends of mine, Ronaldo and Helen," Isabella said slowly, introducing in English, "This is another Sunday co-host of my show, Roberto. Trust."

"Welcome to Radiotelevisione italiana," Roberto practiced very well, and then began to stammer and speak English.This is what he himself asked Isabella to supervise, and he needs to learn English while gaining a foothold in the American film and television industry.

"Isabella, you have to replace me, to, your husband, sorry." Roberto jumped on the table and made a shot gesture, "My, movie, was, Vatican, opposed, released, In Italy, it was screened, and it’s gone.”

"Roberto, very disappointed." He made up for his lack of English with rich body language.Roberto acted like he was injured in the heart after being shot and fell to the ground.

"Your husband can't be a big star in Italy. Pope, destroy, Roberto, Isabella, Isabella's husband's dream," Roberto climbed up in a gesture of protest, "Ro Beto, protest; Italy, government, submit."

"Roberto, disappointed, Italy, no money." Roberto gestured to count the money.

"Hollywood, no, Roberto, no English."

"The movie is not here, it's showing in Italy." Roberto pretended to sit down and watch the movie again, "Hollywood, it's not here, it's showing in Amerikana."

Then Roberto put his fingers together, palms up, "Roberto, I didn't mean it, Isabella, please forgive me, Roberto."

Isabella was also amused by his comedic talent, "Okay, okay, my husband didn't blame you either. When you were looking for him, his movie was on hold, and his cameo was free time."

"Really? Roberto, feel, very happy." Roberto made a funny salute gesture, and then stepped forward, "Hollywood, don't like it, Roberto. Roberto, back, Italy. "

"Oh, Roberto, do you really want to go back to Italy? I will miss you very much. I am the happiest when playing funny news with you."

Isabella hugged him goodbye, got into the car, went to her sister Pia's house with Ronald and Helen, and attended a party.This time it was on a smaller scale, mainly family members and close friends.

"Roberto Bernini is a very talented comedian. My husband admired him so much that he agreed to play a cameo role in Roberto's film during the filming interval. It is a pity that the film offended the Vatican, It was banned in Italy, and the distributor refused to release it in America because of the contract."

"He is not recognized by Hollywood and is going back to Italy." Isabella said, "My husband admires him very much and thinks he is a rare comedy talent and should stay in America to develop."

"Is your husband a film director? His new film is about to be filmed? What's the name?" Ronald heard Isabella talk about her husband's film several times, and couldn't help becoming interested.It happened to be able to ask the real director about the performance of the actors.

Isabella showed an uncontrollable smile again, "He is also Italian, and he will come today, so why don't you ask him yourself then?"

(End of this chapter)