Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1353 The Cayman Islands has laws
After reshooting his scenes in "A Few Good Men," Tom Cruise returned to Memphis to film "The Trap."

Although Ronald felt that his condition was somewhat affected and his over-exerting acting style was somewhat reappearing, the other staff members did not feel this subtle difference.

After the adjustments, Cruise returned to his new performance mode. Within two days, when watching the sample footage, seeing Ronald and Paula smiling more and more, Tom Cruise himself felt that he had made great progress.

As an actor, when I just finished filming and watched the sample reel, I didn't have much of a feeling about whether my performance was good or bad. First, people always embellish themselves, and second, the sample reel has not been edited. Most of the time, only the director who knows the whole picture of the film can have an accurate sense of the scale of the performance.

Tom Cruise's restrained performance made Ronald feel good, and Ronald felt good, which gave Tom Cruise more confidence through his words and deeds. After the fifth week of filming, the entire crew realized that this movie would be a movie where Tom Cruise's acting skills would improve and would likely win praise from critics.

This is a rare thing for a star who is famous for his good looks. Cruise was in a good mood and gave gifts to important people in the crew, especially the photographers, lighting, props, costumers, etc. He gave them all Seiko mechanical watches, which are well-known in America. He also ordered takeout every now and then, and the famous Memphis fried chicken and barbecue, and other southern delicacies made the whole crew very happy.

"If you want to invite more people, please do so during the last few days of filming here. You won't be able to afford it once we get to the Cayman Islands..." Ronald joked about Tom Cruise. The Cayman Islands is a high-end tourist destination and the cost of traveling there is much higher than that of Hawaii.

By the weekend, we had the best barbecue, and all the equipment, costumes and props were packed and waiting to be put on the plane to Grand Cayman Island. There is an airport there, so it is not particularly troublesome to transfer the equipment.

However, the cost of accommodation and food was many times that of Memphis, so Ronald asked the production director of the crew to be more careful and let some people go there to unpack first. Once the crew arrived, they could start filming immediately.

……

“It really makes me feel comfortable here…”

When the crew moved to the Cayman Islands to film, Helen Slater also arrived at Grand Cayman as scheduled. This is the largest island in the archipelago, with many diving and flying tourism projects, which made it convenient for the crew to shoot the corresponding scenes.

Ronald wore a linen shirt, khaki shorts, and a khaki fisherman's hat. Helen wore a white linen shirt, a white beach skirt, and a white straw hat. The two walked hand in hand on the Seven Mile Beach, the most scenic beach on the island.

This is mainly the business scope of the Royal Cayman Cruise Line, and Ronald's film is equivalent to a product placement for them. This company mainly attracts upper-middle-class tourists in America, so they reached an agreement with the crew.

While the technicians were unpacking and preparing and the actors had not yet arrived, Ronald and Helen stayed in the best hotel here, the Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman, for two days.

"Yes, the climate and scenery here are really relaxing..." Ronald also likes this place very much. The two of them don't know many people, and they can enjoy the beach like ordinary people by wearing sunglasses.

"Mr. Lee, Miss Slater, the plane is ready..." A pilot named Bill Booth came over and invited them to board his seaplane for sightseeing.

"Okay, here we go."

Bill Booth was the actor who played the pilot when the crew was filming the seaplane scene. This person was actually introduced by Tom Cruise. He and Cruise met at the skydiving school when they were studying for their pilot's license.

Ronald was confident in his flying skills and the safety of seaplanes, so he and Helen circled over the beach for half an hour.

"Oh, the sea water here is so unforgettable..." Helen started exclaiming as soon as she got on the plane. For a girl who grew up on Long Island, New York, vacationing in such a high-end beach resort with her loved one has been her dream since her teenage years.

"Yeah, this shot will be great..." Ronald was still holding the director's viewfinder, not forgetting to take care of his work, and looked at Helen next to him with admiration.

"I love it here. It would be great if I could come here for vacation with my children in the future..." Back in the executive suite of the Hyatt Hotel, Helen continued to admire the scenery. While looking at the concept photos Ronald took with a disposable camera, she secretly observed Ronald's reaction.

"Honey, I thought you wouldn't mention this." Ronald moved some photos around, trying to string the shots together in his mind.

"Oh, dear, that's not what I meant. I was just talking about the conceptual child. I remembered that my parents took me to the beach in Long Island when I was a child... You know what I mean..." Helen became nervous when she heard Ronald's tone and explained a little incoherently.

Ronald looked up. He had actually already made up his mind that he and Helen also wanted to have a child. He smiled, put the photo down, stood up and wanted to hug her.

"Ding Dong, Ding Dong..." At this moment, the doorbell rang...

"I'll go open the door..." Helen was a little afraid of what answer Ronald would give to this question, so she stood up and quickly went to open the door.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Li? I was introduced by the general manager of the Royal Cayman Cruise Line. I knew you were here, so I came to disturb you..."

The visitor was an elderly man with the demeanor of a very British gentleman. He was wearing formal tropical clothing, a short-sleeved shirt, khaki shorts and a British hard hat. He took off his hat and saluted Ronald.

"Who are you?" Ronald shook hands with him. Helen saw the situation and went to prepare coffee.

"Let me introduce myself. I am the Governor of the Cayman Islands, His Excellency Michael Edward John Gore, and Chief Minister Thomas Jefferson. I am here to discuss with you a small detail in the filming of the movie..."

"Please take a seat..." Ronald could tell something about the Cayman Islands from the names of the two people he mentioned. The Governor had a typical British name, while the Chief Minister was a native named after an American founding father.

"It's like this. I learned from the Royal Cayman Cruise Line that the movie you shot involves some plots about wealthy Americans coming here to set up companies and launder money and evade taxes..."

“Hey, hey, hey…” Ronald stopped him immediately upon hearing this. “My movie is adapted from an American novel. The creation of novels is protected by the First Amendment, including our film creation…”

"Of course, of course, I also admire the efforts of your country's founding fathers to protect the rights of citizens..." The visitor echoed repeatedly. He also came prepared and asked Ronald for help.

Like the backgrounds of the governor and chief minister, Cayman’s economy and politics also represent this tendency toward division.

The ownership belongs to the British Empire, and the governor and senior judges are sent from Britain. However, the personnel representing the middle and lower levels of civil servants and the legal system are mainly local mixed-race indigenous people, descendants of white immigrants, and a small number of black people.

Tourism is not the largest industry in the Cayman Islands. The real source of income is mainly the income brought by the independent overseas company system under the Commonwealth system, which is the so-called tax haven.

However, Britain does not want the Cayman Islands to bear this title, because it will attract transnational investigations from the notorious American government departments. This will cause great harm to the economy.

Novels are only a niche media in today's world, and the main channel for the public to obtain information is film and television works. Such a movie starring Tom Cruise will undoubtedly attract many people to watch and discuss in North America and around the world. At that time, the Cayman Islands will undoubtedly benefit from this biggest advertisement.

However, if members of Congress hear such rumors and initiate investigations by the IRS, FBI, etc., it will not be a good thing for the Cayman Islands.

"So how does the Chief Minister want me to deal with this problem?" Ronald knew as soon as he heard it that this person came with a solution, not to question.

“We hope to clarify in the end credits that the Cayman Islands is a country with laws, and express our gratitude to the Governor and government ministers…” As he spoke, the old man handed over a note with a handwritten sentence on it.

Ronald looked at the note handed over by the other party, on which they had prepared the following statement:

“The producers would like to thank the Cayman Islands Government and His Excellency Governor Michael Gore for their collaboration during the production of this film and acknowledge that the Cayman Islands has strict anti-drug and anti-money laundering laws which are strictly enforced.

"Of course, it's easy to do." Ronald put the note in his notebook, indicating his agreement, and asked the other party what agreement he needed to sign.

"We respect your credit and that of Tom Cruise. The lawyers will draft the agreement. In addition, as a token of our gratitude, we would like to invite you to visit the Governor's Mansion..."

It seems that this person is very experienced. Not only did he achieve his goal, he also wanted to trick the main creators into going to the Governor's Mansion to take a group photo or something, which could also bring some benefits to the Governor and the ministers.

Ronald declined on the grounds that he was busy with filming, and the other party politely stopped pestering him.

"Oh, Ronnie, you are so awesome. You can stand on equal footing with aristocrats like the Governor..." Helen hugged Ronald's arm and began to admire him again.

"Ha, this governor doesn't have much real power..." Ronald thought. The governor's title was just an Officer of the Order of the Empire (OBE). In fact, in the film industry, there were many senior directors who had received this title. They were not considered true aristocrats.

Helen automatically attributed this to Ronald's modesty. How could an ordinary person be able to interact with the leaders of several countries?
"Hmm..." Ronald looked at Helen's admiring blue eyes, and was very moved, so he kissed her.

“I’ll go get it…” Helen couldn’t stand it anymore and hurried to find something.

"Don't take it... Don't you want a child?"

"Oh, Ronald..."

Helen trembled with joy, and her whole body became hot when she was hugged. She had been feeling a little excited these two days, and Ronald's words made her even more excited.

"My idea is this. When you get pregnant, you can put your acting career on hold and go on vacation to Europe or East Asia. When the child is born, we can adopt the child... I can't give you and the child a formal identity, so I'll let you..."

After finishing, Ronald hugged Helen, whose skin was still red, and told her about his plan, which was originally proposed by Michelle Pfeiffer.

"Don't say that. Giving me a child is my greatest gift...mmmm..." Helen happily hugged Ronald and kissed him again.

……

"Action!"

The first day of filming in the Cayman Islands was Jerry Weintraub's part. He played a fat American symbol who spoke very "directly". In the end, he was persuaded by Mitch, played by Tom Cruise, to open a tax shelter company in the Cayman Islands with the help of this law firm.

"Cut!" Ronald saw that Weintraub was still a little nervous, so he quickly stopped and helped him relax. This guy just didn't know how to shoot in front of the camera. After Ronald explained the situation, he pretended that the camera didn't exist, and his gangster tycoon temperament quickly revealed itself.

"Thank you, Susan... How was my performance, Ronald?" Weintraub's lover Susan also came to the Cayman Islands to take care of Weintraub during her vacation. The bankruptcy crisis the year before had hurt him greatly, and he seemed to have aged five years.

Fortunately, with the help of Ronald, Weintraub has overcome the financial crisis. As long as the new The Karate Kid can be a normal box office hit, the cash flow can continue. This will give him time to sell some film library assets to get his finances back on track.

"You acted very well, but of course you are still not as good as Robert." Ronald told the truth. Weintraub played his role completely in his true colors, but he was an amateur after all. Compared with Robert Duvall, a character actor who specializes in playing impressive supporting roles, he was completely suppressed. It was just because of the plot that he looked okay.

"Really? I feel like with my temperament, it would be more appropriate for me to play an upright businessman?"

"What makes this drama so impressive is the variety of villains. If you want to play a decent character, you can only play an old lawyer who died in a diving accident..."

"Ha, that's right, I'm not a very decent person, am I, Susan?" Winterraub said self-deprecatingly. He hasn't divorced his wife yet, but he's already living with his friend's daughter Susan. He can't be called a decent person at all.

"Shame on me..." Ronald secretly reflected on himself, but this is what true love is. Winterraub's lover and wife can still have dinner and reunite under the same roof on Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays, and they have become family and friends.

Ronald was just about to imagine Diane, Helen and himself having dinner together, with their children next to them, when he immediately felt something was wrong. Suddenly, Helen was wearing a duck mask in the movie "The Evil Husband" and kidnapping a rich woman to extort money; and Diane was playing a rock singer and punching a man who didn't respect her.

Forget it, times have changed, I hope Diane can turn a blind eye and tolerate me and Helen being together. I can't have the luxury of being a woman with traditional values ​​like Weintraub, who is an old Hollywood type.

(End of this chapter)