Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Laura San Giacomo is unwilling to participate in the third part of the Godfather."

Richard was at Ronald's house, telling him about the latest developments in the Godfather III.

"Why? Isn't the role of Mary enough to satisfy her?" Ronald drank black tea and had a breakfast meeting with Richard, talking about business and some Hollywood news, which was also an important source of information for him to grasp the dynamics of the industry.

"The real reason is unclear. San Giacomo used to play supporting roles. She was a supporting role in this year's acclaimed movie "Sex, Lies, and Videotape". In "Pretty Woman", she was also Julia Roberts' wingman.

It is said that this time I have the opportunity to play an Italian woman, which is a very suitable opportunity. She can turn over and play the heroine. She is Italian herself and knows Italian culture and customs very well.

I talked to several people in the company, and they didn't understand. I asked San Giacomo's agent, but there was no result."

"Maybe, hum, she knows too much about the "customs" of Italians..." Ronald suddenly said.

"Hey, why don't you help? Coppola was very supportive of us back then..." Diane heard Ronald's strange words and poked him.

"Frances (Coppola) told me that this is an Italian story. Only girls who grew up in a traditional Italian family can naturally understand the various problems faced by Mary in this story.

I think San Giacomo may not be "traditional" enough, and she knows it herself. We don't have to worry. I think Francis will definitely find a suitable candidate to play Mary soon. Who can refuse the heroine of the third part of the Godfather?"

"Oh...? Or Ronnie, you know Director Coppola, so we don't have to worry in vain..." Diane felt that what Ronald said made sense, and immediately accepted this reason. Go to the inner yoga room and start daily stretching exercises.

"Hey?" Richard has been in CAA for a long time, and he can't be fooled by a few words. The look in his eyes when he looked at Ronald was full of suspicion.

"Francis told me that every time he made a movie, his whole family would come together. His father had composed the soundtrack for him before. When Nick (Cage) was cheap before, he was also the leading actor he liked to use..."

Seeing that Richard had understood a little, Ronald added, "Nicita is Francis' main agent. If you also want to improve your status, you might as well tell these words to Rick (Nicita). He will know what to do..."

Richard listened to Ronald's words and went to discuss with Nicita excitedly.

After listening to Richard's hint and understanding Coppola's intention, Nicita took the initiative to mediate between him and Paramount. Two days later, Sidney Ganis of Paramount had to pinch his nose and participate in the audition of Coppola's daughter Sofia.

"Ha...ha..."

When it came to the audition, Sidney Ganis looked at Sofia's extremely high cheekbones and disproportionate big nose, and cursed Coppola in his heart for disregarding everything for making money.

But once the film project starts, it is like a rumbling train. If passengers are not picked up quickly, the money burned every day will be astronomical. Anyway, as Ronald said, the audience will definitely come to see Al Pacino's ending. Such an unimportant "heroine" should just ignore it...

"What do you think?" Coppola also asked Sidney Ganis to express his opinion.

"I, well, have very Italian characteristics..." Sidney Ganis was resentful in his heart, but in order to move forward with the project, he still pinched his nose and said the only thing he could praise.

"Hahaha, of course, we Italians are good at acting. We have been exposed to it since childhood. We just need to act out the scenes in life..."

...

"The famous conductor Leonard Bernstein conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Berlin today and performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony 'Ode to Joy'. In the chorus, the choir changed the lyrics of Ode to Joy and sang Ode to Freiheit.

The choir includes singers from West Germany, East Germany, Britain, the Soviet Union and other countries."

"The goddess of freedom is holy and beautiful, her light shines... on the earth..."

Ronald looked at the TV and saw a large group of burly singers singing the tune of the Ninth Symphony and Ode to Freedom with all their strength.

Conductor Leonard Bernstein is a New York Jew, slightly younger than Karajan who died earlier. They are both artists who entered the field of conducting before World War II and are basically conductors of the same era.

Leonard Bernstein was overshadowed by Karajan all his life. Unexpectedly, in the most important performance of Beethoven's music in Germany, it was Leonard Bernstein, who often conducted Mahler's works, who replaced Karajan, the first interpreter of Beethoven's symphony.

To talk about the level of an artist, life span is actually very important. If you live a few more years, the artists of your time will die. In those years, you are the most authoritative.

"West German Chancellor Kohl passed by the famous Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and went to East Germany to meet with East German Chancellor Modrow. From now on, West Germans and West Berliners can travel to East Germany without a visa.

Before this, West Germans had to apply for visas several days or weeks in advance to travel to East Germany and East Berlin. If they planned to stay, they had to exchange at least 25 marks per day. These restrictive conditions prevented residents from going there voluntarily. Starting tomorrow, the travel regulations for West Germans will be as relaxed as those in East Germany after November 9th..."

Watching the follow-up reports on the Berlin Wall on TV, Ronald and Diane were equally stunned. The whole world seemed to be turning upside down. Things that seemed to be unchanged in the past few decades and that were taken for granted were now beginning to loosen up.

The new generation of East German young people watch pirated Hollywood movies and listen to pirated British, American and West German pop music. Cultural products smuggled from Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia make them, like young people in the West, like MJ, breakdancing, and dirty dancing, which are full of personality liberation, more than traditional art forms.

The various parties held at the breach of the Berlin Wall for more than a month are still going on. On TV, Ronald and the young people holding double-speaker tape recorders and dancing wildly to the music found it difficult to distinguish whether they were East Germans or West Germans.

...

"Ronald, the West Berlin Film Festival has invited you to attend the 40th Film Festival from February 9th to 20th next year... to serve as a member of the jury. "

In the evening, Nicita called Ronald. The organizing committee of the West Berlin Film Festival conveyed this urgent invitation through the MPAA.

"Huh? Why? I thought these European film festivals didn't like Hollywood people as judges." Ronald was very surprised. He participated in the three major European film festivals mainly to sell copies. As for awards that affirm his ability, there were often none.

European film festivals can only give Hollywood stars some preferential treatment. As for directors like Ronald who shoot commercial films full of money, they are not very popular with the jury.

"You are specially invited by the organizing committee because of your special contribution to the Berlin Wall incident and the promotion of cultural exchanges between East and West Germany..." Nicita laughed over there.

"Contribution through pirated copies? Hahahaha... I haven't collected money from them yet? "

Jokes aside, Niceta still asked Ronald to think carefully, because his wife Paula Wagner's main client, Tom Cruise's new film "Born on the Fourth of July", will also participate in the main competition unit of this West Berlin Film Festival.

If Ronald becomes a judge, then it means that he will have his own people on the judges.

"Is that so? I have to ask my friends, is West Berlin safe now? What if East Germany has second thoughts and the Alliance comes? "

Ronald's worries are not completely unfounded. The movie "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" starring Juliette Binoche tells such a story. The Alliance has dispatched several times against brothers who have two minds.

In addition, the most powerful garrison of the Warsaw Pact is now in East Germany.

"You said so, it's true, I have to talk to Paula..." Nicita originally thought that Ronald was making an excuse not to go, but when it comes to the thundering methods of the Alliance, the American is still frightened.

Ronald did not delay and immediately called George.

"George, analyze for me, is it dangerous for me to go to West Berlin now? ”

“Hahaha, that’s definitely not the case.” George’s current identity is sensitive. The media’s slight exposure of his plan to run for governor of Texas has attracted severe criticism from his competitors.

Mother Barbara didn’t like the media’s description of her husband as a general who used nepotism to push her son to take over, so she personally asked George Jr. to stop his election plan. George Jr. had no choice but to give up his plan, but because of avoiding suspicion, he couldn’t get back the manager of the Texas Rangers, who he resigned from before, so he ran to Washington, DC, and stayed there.

George Jr. lived very comfortably in Texas and didn’t like the serious and rigid atmosphere in the DC, but his news channels were smoothed a lot because of this.

“You are a famous Hollywood director. The leaders of the alliance like movies, and maybe they are your fans. They won’t do anything to you. At most, they will capture you to the Moscow Film Studio and let you help him make a few movies there...”

“Uh...” Ronald couldn’t figure out whether George Jr. was joking.

“I’m joking. Don’t worry. The alliance doesn’t have any ideas this time. On the contrary, they want East Germany to go to West Germany for money, or even merge the two Germanys. They don’t care. ”

“Really? Impossible? Will the alliance agree to the merger of the two German states? "Ronald is also an ordinary person who is used to the clear boundaries between the two major camps of the East and the West. When he heard this news, his first reaction was... It's not a rumor, right?

"Really, if there were no opposition forces, the two German states would have started merger negotiations now..."

"Then, will these opposition forces launch... Will it be dangerous for me to go?" Ronald still didn't want to take risks in his heart. This is the forefront of the Cold War, West Berlin.

Back then, Kennedy delivered the two famous speeches here, "Today, I am a Berliner", and the former President Ronald delivered the two famous speeches here, "Please tear down this wall, Mr. Secretary General".

"Wait, is Ronald's curse really effective? It's only been a few days, and it really fell?" Ronald thought of this and felt a little incredible.

"Haha, what are you thinking about? Who do you think is the opposing force? The Allied military, or the KGB?" Little George was amused by Ronald's naive ideas about international politics.

"Isn't it them? Who is it?"

"It's British Prime Minister Lady Margaret, and French President Francois..."

"Aren't they on our side?" Ronald felt that all his common sense was challenged.

Why did the leaders of Britain and France oppose the merger of East and West Germany? Aren't we on the same side?

"Hehehe, they were beaten badly by the Germans in World War II. If we hadn't rescued them, they would have been destroyed and spoken German, hahaha..." Little George's international politics was not very good. He heard more secrets than Ronald, so he seemed to be very organized when he spoke.

In addition to the psychological shadow caused by Germany to Britain and France in World War II, Margaret and Francois were already adults when World War II began. This psychological shadow is definitely not comparable to Ronald, who learned the history of World War II from books.

The more normal reason is that after the reunification of Germany, the growth of economic strength made Britain and France feel uneasy.

East Germany has a land area of ​​more than 100,000 square kilometers, while West Germany has less than 250,000 square kilometers. In terms of population, East Germany has 16 million people and West Germany has 62 million people. After the merger, the companies in West Germany, the labor force and market in East Germany, and the relief of the heavy burden of national defense, have burst out with economic strength that cannot be underestimated.

The population of Britain is 57 million, and that of the United Kingdom is 58 million. Once the two Germanys merge, the land area and population will have an overwhelming advantage over both countries. This will definitely have an impact on the current situation in Europe, which is led by the two permanent members of the UN Security Council, Britain and France.

From the perspective of self-interest and historical lessons, it is actually the most reasonable for Britain and France to become the biggest obstacles to the merger of the two Germanys.

In order to show his strength in front of Ronald, George Jr. told him some secrets circulating in Washington and even the White House circle.

In fact, earlier, Mrs. Margaret called Secretary-General Mikhail and advised him to act decisively and stop the fall of the Berlin Wall as soon as possible.

Margaret said that they did not want a unified Germany, which would change the post-war borders. They did not want to allow such a thing to happen, because such a development would undermine the stability of the international situation and might endanger the overall security of the Western camp.

Francois was more direct. He warned directly that the impact of German unification would be greater than that of the mustache coming to power, and the whole of Europe would have to pay for the consequences of unification.

"However, we are happy to see such a thing happen..." George concluded. In fact, America did not want Europe to be a monolithic entity.

After hearing this news, Ronald knew that there was no risk in going to West Berlin next February. There were many benefits. As a cultural promoter, Ronald would definitely be welcomed. This would be a great thing for getting more pre-sales in Europe in the future.

And having been a judge for one term, it was equivalent to having qualifications in the future. Maybe in the future, he could increase some connections in Europe. At least when he went to sell copies, people would respect him more.

He made up his mind and accepted the invitation. Ronald got the list of judges for the 40th West Berlin Film Festival.

Surprisingly, there was also an old acquaintance of Ronald, the famous Italian left-wing filmmaker, comedy screenwriter, director, actor, Roberto Benigni...