Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Rest for a while. I'll stay with you here." Diane came in and wiped Ronald's sweat with a hot towel.

"Why did you come back suddenly? Didn't Donna go to Washington, DC with you?" Ronald felt much better.

"I was at the Memorial to the Fallen in Washington, DC, and saw many people mourning their loved ones who died of AIDS. They all made me sad... Later, I heard that the expert from the CDC said that this year's flu is very serious, so I came back to see you." Diane told Ronald what she saw at the Memorial to the Fallen and added a little more tea to Ronald's cup.

"Uh..." Ronald took a sip. Why did Diane talk about this disease? He had to say, "The director of photography of my Karate Kid 3 crew suddenly died of AIDS. Richard and Niceta thought I... Isn't it ridiculous?"

"Hehe, you must not be. I've read the popular science pamphlets they distributed..." Diane thought Ronald always took full protection. It must be the flu.

"Sleep a little longer. I've looked up the Merck Manual here. You need to rest more and drink more water." Diane put down the thermos, turned off the TV, and let Ronald close his eyes to rest.

After a busy day at work, Ronald felt good. He simply stopped thinking about the pile of work and closed his eyes to rest.

Memorial to the Fallen Soldiers... Ronald had seen this place before. A white obelisk-like monument went straight into the sky. Its official name was the George Washington Monument. There were no buildings around to dominate the place. There were only quiet lawns and a square reservoir opposite the monument.

In fact, federal legislation stipulates that no building in Washington, DC can be higher than this monument named after the founding father. The pool is called the Capitol Hill Reflection Pool, a facility specifically used to set off the monument.

There were only slight ripples on the quiet water, which made the monument more solemn. Looking behind the monument, there was the Lincoln Memorial built of white marble.

This is the heart of America. The designer hopes to give any citizen who comes here a great feeling of religious nature.

Perhaps it was the warmth of the sun on his face, or perhaps it was because he was more focused after being sick. Ronald clearly thought of the relative positions of the monument, the pool, and the Lincoln Memorial in his mind. As a director, it was easy for him to figure out how to shoot the scene so that the place would have a sense of history.

The best angle should be to shoot a panoramic view at one end of the pool, higher than the height of the human eye. The white monument appeared in the other side of the pool in the camera, and the Lincoln Memorial could be seen when it was panned over.

Ronald felt that this shot was very vivid in his mind, and he smiled, as if his directing skills had improved.

"Hoo..." Suddenly, the picture in his head was filled with a sea of ​​people, and the big speakers on the scene played fierce and noisy 1960s rock music. People crowded around the pool, holding various placards, and it seemed that if there was one more person, they would be squeezed down and fall into the pool.

There was a high platform nearby, with four microphones lined up on it, and many anti-war people came to the stage to give speeches against the Vietnam War.

Ronald exclaimed. This shot is quite good. Who directed it? Movies about the Vietnam War are not very popular now. If you have seen this shot, you should have an impression of it. Is it the new movie made by Oliver Stone?

"No..." Ronald watched the camera zoom in. The person who walked onto the podium was not Tom Cruise, the star of Stone's new movie, but another Tom, Tom Hanks, who had filmed "Grown Up" with Diane.

"Tell me about this war, brother!" Seeing that Hanks seemed to be a bit cold, a hippie wearing a national flag shirt came over and whispered a few words to him.

"The war in Vietnam?" Hanks seemed a little silly.

"The war in the fucking South!" The hippie took the opportunity to add a swear word,

"There is only one thing I can say about the war in Vietnam..." Tom Hanks looked very nervous and paused for several seconds. He waited for the crowd to quiet down before he spoke.

The sound of the scene turned to Hanks' narration. The camera zoomed out a little. A man who looked like an officer entered the camera. He turned around to make sure that there was no one around and quickly unplugged the microphone.

Soon, another female hippie wearing a helmet came over and found the officer's little move. She beat him away with a baseball bat and connected the microphone with her companion. Unfortunately, only the last sentence was heard.

"That's all I have to say about this..."

Unfortunately, the soldier character played by Tom Hanks only said one sentence at the end. What is his position? The movie cleverly avoided him.

"Well, this director is a bit interesting..." Ronald also felt that this treatment was very effective. Whether you are left or right, you can interpret the meaning that conforms to your own values.

Tom Hanks was about to go down, and suddenly in the picture, a woman in white clothes jumped from the shore into the Capitol Hill Reflection Pool and walked towards the podium.

The Reflection Pool was actually deliberately made to only reach the height of a person's knee. Such reflection can reflect the reflection of the monument, making the monument more majestic.

"Jenny!" Hanks shouted and jumped into the pool. The two hugged each other in the pool, and the people around them burst into thunderous cheers...

"Wow..." Ronald shuddered. This shot design gave him goosebumps. He woke up from his dream and almost rolled off the bed. He quickly stretched out his hands to pull the bed board.

"Ring, ring, ring..."..

The phone rang, and Diane in the living room outside picked it up, "This is Ronald's house. Do you have anything to talk to him about?"

"I'm Jerry Weintraub. How is Ronald now? Is he feeling better?" When Weintraub heard that it was a woman, he didn't show any doubts, but directly cared about Ronald's physical condition.

"He's much better this morning." Diane felt that this kind of hostess felt very good.

"If he can answer the phone, please let me talk to him. About his new film, it will be soon... It won't delay his news." Weintraub used the skills he used to deal with country singer client John Denver. He talked about Ronald everywhere, and respected Diane's status as a hostess, which made Diane feel very comfortable.

"Oh, I'll let him answer the phone..."

"Jerry?" Ronald had already sat back on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up the bedside phone and started talking to Weintraub.

"I helped his 'partner' arrange James Crabbe's funeral. I found an experienced veteran, Steve Iaconelli, to take over as the new director of photography. Director Tsui Hark is relatively stable, and the crew didn't have any major problems..." Weintraub repeated the details of the emergency handling.

"It all depends on you..." Ronald had to let Weintraub make the decision at this time.

"James Crabbe's death has caused a big response in Hollywood. He has participated in many projects before and has many friends and acquaintances in the circle. When the time comes, reporters will definitely ask, what is your attitude towards him? We have to unify the caliber."

"Well, what else can we do? Express condolences and add a line of tribute subtitles in the opening." Ronald remembered what Diane had just told him about the mourning activities at the Washington Memorial to the Fallen Soldiers.

"No problem. I think there is probably an insider behind this. Otherwise, the media wouldn't have gotten the news so quickly. If I have any news from the insider, I'll let you know. We must catch this guy who ruined our business."

"Well, keep in touch." Ronald also felt that there was a problem. How come there were rumors that he was sick so soon?

"How is your flu? My wife Jane just came back from Washington, and I asked her to go see you. I just happened to have some very useful ointments here. Singers caught a cold at concerts, and they all relied on this Indian ointment. It was cured with just one application."

...

Soon, Jane Morgan called too. She asked Diane Ronald's specific address and said she would be there soon.

Ronald received several calls of condolences. Friends in the circle called him when they knew the situation. Diane wanted to disconnect the phone line. She couldn't rest well like this.

"Take a few more calls, these are all good friends..." Ronald told Diane, these are the closest friends, Cameron, Gail Hurd, his daydreaming colleague, and Minahan Golan who just called.

Diane signaled him not to talk too long, and went out to wait for Jane Morgan.

"Minahan, I'm fine, thank you for calling." Ronald said to the receiver.

"Fuck, Hollywood is full of bastards, spreading rumors about you. There are too many bastards in your country and too few good people. If I were in Israel, I would have slapped them. These bastards use their own debauchery to speculate about you. They also said that you have that disease..."

"Hey, I don't know who is spreading rumors about me. I just have the recent severe flu..."

"Flu? Isn't that a cold? It's okay, drink more hot water and chicken soup. Haha..." Minahan Golan was still as rough as ever. He lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Actually, Ronald, I tell you, even if it's that disease, it doesn't matter. I have a secret recipe. As long as you finish the work, just wash it with brandy. It is very antiseptic and disinfectant. There is no problem at all. It can also boost men's masculinity!"

"You fucking ignorant... That's a virus, it's useless to kill bacteria!" Ronald was amused by him. This guy is just like that.

"Ding Dong... Ding Dong..." The doorbell rang again.

"So fast?" Diane ran over to open the door.

"Ronald... um..." Outside the door was Helen Slater, who had returned from Canada overnight, holding a small bag of laundry in her hand.

"Ms. Morgan... um..." Diane was also stunned.

"I heard Ronald was sick, so I came to see him." Helen didn't know what to do. She had never thought about this kind of thing, and she didn't know what she said.

"Come in, he's in the bedroom, he has the latest flu, the doctor said there's no big problem, but he's still very weak and needs to rest, don't talk to him for too long." Diane puffed out her chest, not wanting to show weakness in front of Helen. The strong competitive spirit inherited from her father and mother emerged at this time.

"Oh, okay..." Hearing this tone, Helen became even more flustered. She walked into the room to see Ronald, and didn't know what she said.

"I'm fine, you take a good rest, I'll call Cameron Crowe, and the filming will be suspended for a few days. It's too hard for you to go back and forth like this." Ronald didn't think about how to deal with this situation. Both women had a deep love for him. He himself was in an automatic state and said a few words about the filming before he realized something was wrong.

"No, that's not what I meant. You should rest here. I want to see you these days. Diane also came back yesterday to take care of me. She doesn't live here... um..." Ronald looked up and Diane was standing at the door with hot tea.

"That's not what I meant... cough cough..." Ronald found that he couldn't explain it clearly, so he had to cough.

"Are you okay..." Both women came to ask him with concern.

"It's just a little cough and chest tightness. I need to drink more hot water. Don't leave. I need you..."

...

The two women accompanied Ronald for a while, and Helen left. She always thought that she could handle the relationship with Ronald well. The two of them were special friends, bound to each other, but not bound to each other. But at this time today, she still felt heartbroken.

She didn't experience strong competition, and she didn't know why she left. After hailing a taxi and returning home, Helen called her best friend, Helen Hunt, "Helen, I'm done. I don't know why I love him so much. What should I do?"

"Eon, Helen, didn't you say that you were satisfied with this kind of relationship with him?" Helen Hunt didn't know what to say. Didn't Slater usually look like an independent woman?

"I, I don't know...what should I do?"

"You are a Hollywood actor. How did you get the role? Competition is the virtue of America. Think about how you beat other competitors?"

"Ah...I don't know how I got the role..." Slater was stunned.

"You have a good rest. I'll go to rest tomorrow. You can ask Donna...or Helen to take over." Diane refilled Ronald with another cup of black tea, but she still didn't spare Ronald.

"Hey...cough cough..." Ronald didn't know what to do except coughing. The weakness of his body made his will and mind start to work poorly.

"Ding Dong...Ding Dong..." The doorbell rang and saved Ronald.

This time it was really Jane Morgan who came. The former singer not only brought the Indian ointment that Weintraub asked him to bring, but also brought Barbara's greetings.

Barbara saw that Ronald's ideas and the videotapes that her eldest son George found played a very important role, and she was convinced that Ronald was an indispensable assistant to her husband's administration.

As soon as she opened her mouth, she sent Ronald a special medicine for influenza A virus provided by CDC experts. This medicine is very effective, but it is still going through the FDA process, and Ronald can only use it in a single case in a way called compassionate use.

"Thank you, thank you Barbara..." Ronald took the pills with water and thanked Jane Morgan.

"Here is the ointment. I saw many of Jerry's customers use it. It will make you feel better..."

"Send Ms. Morgan away for me..." Ronald asked Diane for help.

Diane remained calm and nodded to send Jane Morgan out.

"I can see that you take good care of him..." Jane Morgan patted Diane's hand. It can be seen that this is a loving girl, but it seems a little awkward.

"Ms. Morgan, I'm a little confused and want to ask you. It may be a little abrupt. I wonder if you can..." Diane looked at Jane Morgan, thinking of her special relationship with Weintraub, and wondered how she could tolerate an open lover.

"You want to ask about Susan, right? Hollywood knows it..." Jane Morgan smiled.

Seeing Diane nod, Jane Morgan talked about her meeting with Weintraub.

At that time, Weintraub was Jane Morgan's agent. The next morning after he met her, he asked her to come down and confessed to her in public in the hotel lobby. Morgan had a boyfriend at that time, and Weintraub didn't care.

Jane Morgan liked Weintraub very much. Despite her age being more than ten years older than him and everyone's cold eyes, she resolutely married Weintraub. She also did not file for divorce after Weintraub really fell in love with Susan.

She knew that Susan was not beautiful, and Weintraub was probably really in love with her. But she was determined not to divorce, and she would engrave the name of Mrs. Weintraub on her tombstone even if she died.

"Is it worth it?" Diane didn't quite understand this old-fashioned mentality.

"Oh, as long as you have experienced everything between Jerry and me, nothing is not worth it. Those mornings, those nights, how passionate we were? Women need to be loved. Women who are truly loved passionately by a man will know that their lives are not lived in vain...

At that time, he and I both had fixed boyfriends and girlfriends, but I knew he was different as soon as I saw him. A good man needs competition. I am lucky to win the competition, girl!

But love will fade, I can't stop Jerry from falling in love with Susan...The regret between us is that we don't have children." Jane Morgan has nothing to hide about this.

"What if Mr. Weintraub and others..." Diane knew that Weintraub was not the only one Susan.

"That's another matter. I once told Jerry that as long as he likes a beautiful woman, he can get my permission if he pays me one million dollars..."

"Puff..." Diane thought it was a joke and swept away the sadness just now.

"Ronald..." Diane returned to the apartment, where Ronald was watching TV.

The third presidential debate is going on, and Dukakis is not doing well. He is a little drowsy and his reactions are slow.

It happened that a pre-arranged questioner, reporter Bernard, asked him, "If your wife, Katie Dukakis, was raped and murdered, would you support the death penalty?"

"No," Dukakis thought for a moment and gave a negative answer, "The death penalty is actually ineffective in statistics. Judging from the number of death penalty states that support the death penalty and the number of death penalty states that execute the death penalty, and the incidence of violent crimes in each state, the death penalty has not been very effective in shocking and reducing the rate of vicious crimes..."

"Do you want to rest for a while... Are you still coughing now?" Diane pushed the door open and asked.

"Hey, turn it off..." Ronald felt relieved when he saw Diane coming back.

On this sensitive question, Dukakis gave the wrong answer. All the TV viewers who watched the scene were deeply impressed that Dukakis was a person who lacked human touch and was not like a real husband.

George Sr.'s election was basically set in stone.

Today's network environment and production tools have some problems, so the update is late.