Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1345: Movies Lead Social Change
"You will definitely get better, don't worry. Ms. Elizabeth Taylor donated to the UCLA research institute. The research here is the most advanced in the world, experimental drugs. As one of the main donors, I can also get priority use..."

"Oh, Ronald, I understand my situation. But thank you anyway. I just want him to be with me..."

Emil Adolino was lying on a hospital bed at UCLA Medical Center. He looked thin and his eyes looked a little big, but there was still a smile on his face.

"Don't think too much. Medical science is advancing very quickly nowadays. You need to get better soon so that you can film the sequel to Sister Act..."

"Ha, I will, I really enjoy working with Ubbe... ahem..."

"Wow...Emile always says you're a good person, Ronald."

Emil Adolino's partner could no longer bear the sight and began to cry.

“I will come to see you…” Ronald was not very satisfied with his partner’s behavior. Her crying sounded fake, and at this time, she had to rely on the friendship between Emile and himself to find a connection.

He ignored the bastard, just said goodbye to Emile with a smile, walked out of the ward and went to the rest area in the distance.

"Coffee?" Michelle Cannold brought a cup of instant coffee and handed it to Ronald.

"Thank you...I...thank you", Ronald's voice was a little choked, Cannold felt something was wrong, and when he saw Ronald sitting there, his eyes were red. He couldn't help crying too.

In the past, they had only heard that a Hollywood star had died of illness, but they had never seen them seriously ill, and they had no close relationship with them. When the misfortune befell Emil Adolino, the two daydream bosses were silently holding back tears in the lounge of the medical center.

Emil Adolino was an old man who joined Daydream when it was just established, the first movie "Dirty Dancing". At that time, he was Ronald's assistant director on the set, and he and Michelle Cannold often worked on the set together.

"Hey...how could this happen? Look, Magic Johnson is still alive and well, playing in the Olympics?"

"This is really unfair. Emile is such a nice guy..."

"Hey……"

"Hey……"

Apart from the sadness of his old friend's terminal illness, the director crisis encountered by Daydream was a minor matter. Emil Adolino was the director who could make the most commercial films in Daydream except Ronald. He didn't know who to find to finish his documentary about the New York City Ballet and the Gypsies that had already been approved.

"By the way, I think Emil's partner is not a good person. In order to prevent him from running away and leaving Emil alone, have you notified his family?" Ronald drank a cup of hot coffee and felt much better. He thought of the scene in the ward and asked Cannold again.

"His parents are both dead, and he is the only child in the family..."

"Hey……"

The two sighed again and had to spend a lot of money to find professional nurses in the hospital to take care of Emil Adolino.

"Mr. Lee, Mr. Cannold?"

A Chinese doctor, wearing big glasses, came over to see Ronald and Michelle.

"Doctor He..." Ronald stretched out his hand to shake hands with him, then retracted it.

"It's okay, it's not transmitted through contact. If you feel uncomfortable, you can wash your hands over there..." Doctor He has seen many relatives like this and doesn't take it seriously.

"Excuse me, how is the patient's condition now?" Ronald went to wash his hands before shaking hands with Dr. He.

"We can only use AZT to control the reverse transcription process now, but Mr. Emil Adolino has too much... in his body. Whether we can get a good result depends on luck..."

"Can't we just clear away all the...?"

"I'm sorry, this is... very special and can't be completely eliminated. We are still looking for the cause. This is the significance of Ms. Taylor's fund. We only have a small amount of federal and state government funding. We can only rely on knowledgeable and caring socialites like Ms. Taylor and you."

"If there is a breakthrough, I hope to use it on Emile first."

"Do not worry……"

……

"What's going on?" Diane saw Ronald in the bathroom as soon as he came back, and came over and knocked on the door worriedly.

"The doctor said that if it works, it will take about six to twelve months. If it doesn't, it will be very quick." Ronald answered while washing his hands. Seeing Emil Adolino's look, he was now in a state of fear. Although Dr. He said it wouldn't work, it was better to be safe.

"Oh, poor Emil..."

Ronald returned home and Diane asked about the situation. It was one thing to comfort Emil Adolino in the hospital, but in fact, everyone knew that if there was no major breakthrough in technology, he would be waiting...

Ronald washed his hands until they were red, and he dried them before coming out. He hugged Diane and sat on the sofa together, feeling that the world was unpredictable.

"I'll call Ms. Taylor..." After a long time, Ronald came to his senses and decided to call Elizabeth Taylor to express his gratitude.

"Ms. Taylor, this is Ronald, thank you very much." Elizabeth Taylor helped to arrange Emil Adolino's transfer to Los Angeles and the various preferential treatments offered by the UCLA Medical Center. Her foundation is the largest sponsor of research projects there.

"Thank you, Ronald. Your latest donation is the largest single donation we have received recently." Elizabeth Taylor was very straightforward. The reason why the medical center was willing to accept him and asked their research project leader Dr. He to meet Ronald and promise to arrange the best treatment in person was that they wanted to set an example in Hollywood and hoped that other big sponsors would donate money.

"There will be more..." Ronald is ready to separate part of the income from "Sister Act" and the dividends that Emil Adolino deserves, and set it up as an Emil fund to ensure that he receives the best care. Ronald will also increase his donations to the UCLA Institute.

"Ronnie, you are much wiser than the previous president, that fool Ronald. If you run for president of America in the future, we will all vote for you."

Elizabeth Taylor's biggest complaint about her former president, her former Hollywood colleague, was that he allowed the disease to spread while in office and did not seek federal funding for research. In the end, the cause of the disease was first discovered by the Chinese.

"Haha, just kidding. I'm not an actor..." Ronald laughed it off. He also asked Elizabeth Taylor if there was anything he could do to better help her in her meaningful work.
"It would be best if you made a movie, Ronald. Do you know that the easing of discrimination against Jews in America has a lot to do with To Kill a Mockingbird? It turns out that movies are not just commercial operations, but also a powerful weapon to lead the public trend."

"I will find a way, and I will need your strong support when the time comes. You know, many people in Hollywood discriminate against this... especially people with minority orientations..."

"Ronnie, go ahead and prepare. If you need me, just let me know. If anyone dares to say something bad about your project, just wait and see how we old ladies deal with him..."

Elizabeth Taylor now considers anyone who supports her "just cause" as a confidant. Moreover, if anyone dares to ignore Ronald, a handsome young man who not only donates money but also wants to make a movie to arouse the public, she will definitely gather a group of old Hollywood stars to show them what the influence of stars is.

……

"For Emile..."

As soon as Ronald told this matter to Daydream's script director, David Simkins, he simply put aside other things and tried to find a script on this theme first.

He was one of the earliest employees of Daydream and had a deep friendship with Emil. At that time, there were only a few people in the office, and they discussed the script until late at night many times.

There are many scripts with this special theme in Hollywood, especially because this theme is discriminated against and the public still has a subtle hostility towards the unfortunate due to prejudice and rumors.

Only when Magic Johnson, a famous playboy in Los Angeles, also suffered from the same disease did the public's doubts about which type of people would get the disease be resolved. So to some extent, the misfortune of this basketball player has brought a turning point for public acceptance.

Because of the negative public perception, no one in Hollywood was willing to touch this type of script. All scripts with this theme were rejected by the seven major production companies. Daydream happened to be looking for it, and it quickly found a large number of them.

Ronald was at the rehearsal of "The Trap". During the break, he was reading the synopses of the recommended scripts that David Simkins had compiled for him... He thought the content of one of the scripts was a good story.

The protagonist Andrew Beckett is a senior partner in the largest corporate law firm in Philadelphia. His illness is discovered by the law firm. Although he covered it up by putting on makeup and pretending to be injured playing squash, he did not escape the suspicion of the top management.

But the company's top management had already made up their minds to fire him. After he asked his assistant to file the document, the company deliberately "lost" this important legal document and quickly fired him the next day.

Andrew Beckett wanted to sue the company for wrongful termination, but could not find any Philadelphia lawyer willing to take his case. His opponent in a previous case, Joe Miller, also declined, and he went to a doctor right afterward, only to be told that such contact would not cause illness.

Afterwards, Andrew Beckett could only drag his weak body to represent himself. After being discovered in the library, Joe Miller, who was also looking up information in the library, discovered that Beckett was discriminated against and took over his agency out of pity.

Later, during the trial, the boss of the law firm defended his dismissal by saying that Beckett was not competitive enough to be a lawyer because he did not understand his physical condition. It turned out that in addition to being afraid of the disease, they also discriminated against Beckett's sexual orientation. Because the boss had previously taken on a case with a client with the same disease, because that client was infected by blood transfusion.

In the end, Andrew Beckett won the case and was awarded $5 million. But at this time, he was already weak and hospitalized, and his days were numbered. Joe Miller, who helped him win the lawsuit, finally went to the hospital to see him, overcame his fear and touched Beckett's face.

Beckett's gay partner then helped him to relieve his pain. Joe Miller went to the memorial service and watched photos and videos of Beckett's childhood with his family.

"This script is very realistic. Is it adapted from a true story?" After reading it, Ronald felt that many details could not be written without in-depth communication with the patients or their relatives. Many times, there are similarities with his own feelings.

"The script doesn't say it's based on a true story, and screenwriter Ron Neswannier never mentioned it," David Simkins replied, looking at his notebook.

"I don't believe this screenwriter. Go investigate. If it's really a true story, it will be very troublesome..." Ronald ordered. It was already a very controversial movie. If someone sued for plagiarism, it would be even more troublesome.

"Okay, I'll go."

"What script? Is it your next project?"

Tom Cruise, who had watched seven or eight Cary Grant movies over the weekend, heard a few words from Ronald and came over to ask. He was getting more and more excited, and the homework Ronald assigned to him was very inspiring.

Like him, Cary Grant was also a popular male star in Hollywood. At that time, female audiences across the country would go to watch any movie starring Cary Grant without paying attention to the plot, which was similar to him.

"It's not suitable for you..." Ronald refused with a smile. If Tom Cruise played this role, it would be a great loss to his commercial value. If Paula Wagner knew about it, she might come to seek revenge with a gun.

"Hey, you haven't even watched my audition yet, and you think I'm not suitable?" Tom Cruise was furious. Was Ronald's acting so bad?

"You ask Paula to come, I'll talk to her...By the way, how was your view of Cary Grant's movie?" Ronald ignored his complaints and started checking homework like a teacher.

"I watched it very carefully and I felt very inspired. Cary Grant is not an actor like Humphrey Bogart or John Wayne who relies on a certain type of role to make a living. He is excellent in all kinds of movies..."

Tom Cruise talked eloquently, and it seemed that he was really working hard.

"That's a little bit close. I think you're getting very close to the real core issue..." Ronald nodded. Indeed, Cruise saw some important points. Cary Grant is an all-rounder who has starred in comedies, romantic love, thrillers, and even war films.

"Just close?"

"Well, the rest can only be understood when the real filming is done..."

Paula Wagner came over just in time, and after reading the synopsis that Ronald showed her, she immediately pulled Tom Cruise away.

"I totally agree with Ronald, just forget it..."

Two days later, David Simkins' investigation came out with the results. The plot of the script was similar in many ways to the first wrongful dismissal lawsuit of its kind in America.

Attorney Jeffrey Powers was an attorney who sued the famous law firm Baker McKenzie for wrongful termination in 1987. He unfortunately passed away shortly after winning the case.

"Tell the screenwriter that if he doesn't admit it, the compensation he will get from the lawsuit will be deducted from his salary." Ronald also felt that adding a subtitle "based on the parties involved" was not a big deal. It is not worth it for the screenwriter to deliberately conceal the facts in order to highlight his ability.

(End of this chapter)