Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 654 Charity Fundraising Party
"What's the news recently?" Ronald asked his agent Nisita.

After the shoot was packed, Ronald would routinely go on vacation for a few weeks, completely forgetting about his fondness for certain shots while filming.When editing in this way, you won’t be disgusted because of a lot of shots taken in a certain scene, or like another shot very proudly. In this way, all shots are treated equally, and the quality of a shot can be judged from an objective standpoint. .

"Stallone's Rocky 4 has just shut down. I heard that director Avelson has a bit of a falling out with him. Stallone is preparing for the post-production."

"I know about it. Weintraub is vying with Stallone to sign Bill Conti, the soundtrack composer." Ronald nodded.

Bill Conti was the soundtrack composer for the first Long Wei Kid. He was abandoned by Stallone's Rocky 3 at the time, and of course he is more willing to choose Ronald, who respects him and cooperates happily.

"When is Rocky 4 coming out? It won't touch my two movies, will it?" This is, after all, the all-American icon, Rocky's latest turnaround boxing.

"Don't worry, they are in a hurry and it will be released by the end of the year."

Ronald raised his eyebrows, "So anxious?"

"Stallone seems to be running out of money right now and desperately needs another blockbuster movie to fix his financial situation."

"Zack's 'The Wicked Husband' had some trouble, the chemistry between the two lead actors was good, but Disney felt it needed a big star to boost the box office. Now they're re-contacting Diane Keaton and convincing her to come play the heroine."

"Well... just don't get in the way of Helen Slater's supporting role." Ronald listened to some of the latest developments in the industry.

"Is there anyone looking for me while I'm away?" Ronald asked another agent, Richard.

"Jim Cameron has gone to Pinewood in London for the Alien sequel. You were in Hawaii when he called."

"John Hughes called and said he wrote a script called 'Pretty in Pink' based on your idea, I hope you don't mind. If you'd like to direct..."

"Where am I free?" Ronald interrupted Richard.

"I replied to him like this, the script here is based on the core of the story you said, a girl with the help of a boy's best friend, changed her appearance to date another boy she had a crush on, and finally met the boy she had a crush on , and found out that I love that best friend."

"Is it really the same? Is he still looking for his muse, Molly Ringwald?" Ronald flipped through the synopsis, and Hughes did write the few words he said last time into a script quickly.The script is not thick, and it seems that he is going to use another trick to let the hero and heroine improvise on the set.

"Yeah, but his male muse, Anthony Michael Hall, turned him down. Hughes' interest in 'Pretty in Pink' has waned a bit, and may be back in Chicago to direct another of his films, so he's searching the world for a director now Substitute."

"Now is not the era of big studios, it is difficult to maintain cooperation with one or two actors for a long time", Ronald heard that John Hughes wanted to cooperate with these two underage actors in more than a dozen movies, I kept filming until the two of them were not suitable for making youth films, but I didn't expect that the leading actor in the third film would run away.

"Hey, that's not right. Did Hughes make a mistake?" Ronald flipped through the script and asked.

"What went wrong?"

"The gender is wrong. What I told him was that the boy had a crush on a girl. With the help of another best friend girl, he caught up with the girl he had a crush on. After dating, he felt that his best friend was more suitable for him."

"Is it okay?" Richard flipped through his notebook, but Hughes didn't ask this question.

"How can it be okay? It has a lot to do with it! Our conservative values ​​in America make it difficult to accept that a girl chooses the loser among two boys. On the other hand, it's okay for a boy to choose a girl, as long as she's pretty." .”

"Any other calls?" Ronald looked at Richard, who was nodding frequently, and flipped through his phone book. He had to talk to John Hughes about this question.

"And Elizabeth Taylor, she invited you to a charity gala..."

"Hush, wait a minute," Ronald answered John Hughes' call.

"John, I'm Ronald. I read your script. I'm not free for the second half of the year. I'm busy with editing. I'm calling to ask you, is your script 'Pretty in Pink' right? Reversed the gender of the male protagonist?"

"No, no, I never meant to teach you... Me? I don't have time to direct. That's okay, I have no intention of signing the script..."

"Humph..." Ronald threw the phone back on the dock with a loud bang.

"Ronald, you are still the original Ronald who selflessly helped him. But he is no longer the John Hughes who can accept criticism with an open mind."

Nisita spoke slowly.

"Okay, anyway, don't blame me if it fails at the box office in the future. This movie obviously has major flaws. The gender of the male and female protagonists should be reversed, so that the audience will like the ending."

"Since you are so sure, why don't you write it yourself and make a copy?"

"Hmm..." Ronald pondered for a long time, "It's fine, but most of the time I handed it over to others to direct. I'm not very interested in making such low-cost movies."

I haven't dreamed of a movie, so I'd better be honest. Whether my own vision can really grasp the trends that American audiences like to watch has not been verified.

"By the way, what's the Elizabeth Taylor's charity party you're talking about?"

"It's a fundraising party for Rock Hudson's illness. She rented a place in the Los Angeles Coliseum, and all the audience have the opportunity to sign autographs and take photos with the stars who went, but they have to pay expensive tickets. The stars who went to participate, There are also requests for donations.”

"I still have to raise donations, right? How much do I have to donate?" Ronald picked up the invitation letter and looked at it, "Who is going?"

"They are all celebrities, and there are many old friends of yours. You are a director and a junior in the industry. It should not be too high, a few thousand dollars is fine."

"Okay, I have to strengthen my social interaction."

"Thank you for inviting me, Ms. Taylor." Ronald kissed twice on the face of Elizabeth Taylor, the promoter of the charity party.

"Thank you for coming, Ronald." Next to Elizabeth Taylor was another friend of Rock Hudson's, veteran actress Doris Day.Ronald also went up and kissed her twice.

"Here's my check."

Seeing the above numbers, Elizabeth Taylor's complexion was obviously much better.The fundraising campaign they launched this time is mainly for Rock Hudson and other poor people with the same disease.

"You are much better than that old Ronald. He has been a bit weird since he went to politics."

The two veteran actresses were arranging the commander-in-chief. Ronald didn't dare to answer, so he could only listen awkwardly.

Since the Grand Commander made a televised speech on the disease, he was quickly cast aside by his old friends in Hollywood.

This is not only because he has forgotten his old friend, but also implicitly accused Rock Hudson's orientation in his speech.And because he didn't let Fu experts declare a state of emergency, pour government money into investigating the epidemic, and fund labs to invent faster tests, and possible treatments.

Since embracing the evangelical church for the campaign, the Grand Commander's values ​​have become increasingly conservative. Not only has he accused Hollywood of too much violence and pornography, but he has also begun to advocate traditional marriage in the relationship between men and women.

This made his behavior of divorcing and remarrying seem extraordinarily funny.Perhaps this is the real reason for the Grand Commander's rage upon hearing his ex-wife's name.

"Michael", Ronald saw that the most popular star now, "Back to the Future" actor Michael J. Fox, came in with Jennifer, a classmate from the acting class.

He happened to leave the two veteran movie stars, and quietly left the land of right and wrong.

Fox chatted with him quite a bit about the post-release pomp of the movie. "Back to the Future" made him an A-list Hollywood star.Thanks to Ronald's recommendation, and his idea of ​​sleeping in the van during the commute.Otherwise, he was back and forth between the two crews of the movie and the TV series "Family Ties", and it would be unbearable to sleep only two or three hours a day.

"The ratings of Family Ties are very good. I plan to use my summer vacation every year to make movies, and then make TV dramas at other times."

"That's good news for your audience."

The two chatted happily, and Fox's girlfriend Jennifer smiled happily. If she knew more Hollywood stars, she would have more chances to audition.Now John Hughes's new film also has the opportunity to audition for a supporting role. For her, her career has opened up a fast track for her.

"Meet you again," Ronald saw the star Cher with a wig at the entrance of the stadium.This time it's a black explosion.

Seeing that she was surrounded by a group of photojournalists, Ronald stepped forward to provide the services of a male guest, stretched out his arm for her to carry, separated the reporters, and let her enter the gymnasium.

"Where's Stoltz?" Ronald looked around, but he didn't see Cher's little boyfriend Eric Stoltz.

"Why, do you want to take his place? Now is a good time." Xueer also joked about Ronald.

"Haha..." Ronald knew at a glance that Xue'er had broken up with her little boyfriend again, and he didn't know who her next boyfriend would be.I have only admiration for Xue'er who is much older, and I have no idea of ​​advancing into boyfriend and girlfriend.

Thousands of spectators came to the scene, and all tickets and donations will be turned into charitable donations to support disease research.Each star was invited to speak a few words.

In the second half, the famous movie star Burt Lancaster read a statement on behalf of his good friend Rock Hudson.

"It's hard for me to have this disease, but if I can help other 1 patients who are also unfortunate, then at least I know my own misfortune and can have some positive meaning."

Hearing such heartbreaking but sentimental words from a big Hollywood star, the audience below were very sad, and some Hudson fans burst into tears.

Several girls in dresses carried donation boxes and climbed up and down the seating area, urging the audience to donate more generously.

"I announce that the donations from the audience and stars have exceeded 100 million US dollars."

The host came to the stage and announced loudly to the guests.

"Wow wow wow..."

Ronald was also applauding vigorously, this long charity gala was finally coming to an end.

"Thank you, thank you." Elizabeth Taylor slowly shuttled through the tables of the guests at each table, thanking each guest who made a donation.

"Thank you, Ronald." Elizabeth Taylor sat down beside Ronald, and lightly tapped her waist a few times with her hands.

"Ms. Taylor?" Ronald asked concerned.

"You can just call me Elizabeth. It's okay. My waist is a little uncomfortable. It's an old problem. Thank you again for your generosity, Ronald. There are not too many stars like you who just hand out the check."

"Oh," Ronald nodded, and handed the old actress a glass of water, "Do you know about this disease? It's like Mr. Hudson's current condition?"

"Hey, it's very difficult for him to move now." Elizabeth Taylor sighed, "This kind of attack is very violent, that is, it lasts for a few months."

"Oh," Ronald couldn't help but worry, "I heard that mosquito bites can also...?"

"That's not true. Locke went to the most advanced Pasteur laboratory in China. Experts there said that for the amount of blood sucked by mosquitoes, to achieve effective infection, more than a few hundred mosquitoes must bite at once. "

"Oh, then I'm relieved."

Ronald breathed a sigh of relief, it seems that this is a disease that is especially spread among people of certain orientations.

……

A few days later, Ronald was on vacation at a hotel in Palm Springs and was having breakfast in the morning when he was on the TV news and heard breaking news.

"Actor Rock Hudson, died yesterday after a recent year-long battle with the novel disease, which had just been named by the Pasteur Institute in the United States, and the University of Maryland Medical Research Center in our country. He was 59 years old. "

"He was found stopped breathing this morning at his home in Beverly Hills by the nurse who was attending to him."

"So fast?" Ronald was a little surprised. A few days ago, he entrusted a friend to read the message.

"Rock Hudson has had a career in Hollywood for nearly 30 years. He has co-starred in movies with Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day and many other female stars. In the history of Hollywood, the total box office of the movies he participated in is more than his Taller, only Cary Grant, and Elizabeth Taylor."

"Rock Hudson's will does not want fans to send flowers. He hopes that all the donations he received before will be handed over to the American... Disease Research Foundation. He also donated 25 US dollars to the foundation."

Ronald watched the news while eating, and many fans wanted to rush into Hudson's house to say goodbye to the idol.

Afterwards, the TV station reviewed the life of Rock Hudson, and also played the answer of the previous commander, who hinted at Hudson's orientation when interviewed by the TV media.

At least in Los Angeles and Hollywood, this kind of attack on the dead has aroused a lot of revulsion.

For the first time, the Grand Commander lost the "non-stick" characteristic of bad news, and this time he was not so easy to disentangle the relationship between the bad news and himself.He has no way to blame bureaucracy.

(End of this chapter)