Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"We love Susan, we love Susan!"

In the House of Representatives election held at the end of the year, Susan Molinari replaced her father who resigned. With 59% of the vote, she undisputedly defeated Robert Gigante of the Donkey Party and was elected to New York State.

This is a rare victory for the Xiang Party this year. Of the three districts New York State lost as a result of the census, two were held by Elephant Party representatives. In several districts in Queens, some representatives of the Elephant Party lost and were flipped blue, while others were able to win. Therefore, die-hard Elephant Party loyalists from all over New York State came to Lower Manhattan to congratulate this hopeful star of the Elephant Party.

"Congratulations..." Ronald also stepped forward to shake hands with her. Susan Molinari smiled brightly at Ronald and Douglas Jr., and such a sponsor was a godsend.

Susan's father Molinari Sr. retired from Congress and participated in the election of the new head of Staten Island government. In this way, he voluntarily quit Manhattan and returned to Staten Island, which no one cared about, to be the island's leader. It would be hard to kill all the donkey gangs in New York.

Douglas Jr. sighed as the new congressman began to address voters. "Hey, the current redistricting is very unfavorable to us. I don't know if the 14th District will no longer have the fat in Lower Manhattan."

"I think Susan Molinari seems to be very popular among voters near Wall Street, but voters in Staten Island don't like her that much." Donna interjected from the side.

"Susan is more moderate than her father, and also supports women's abortion rights and the petty hobbies of some urban voters. In fact, she is more suitable for the constituency in Manhattan. People here like her..."

The speaker was Roger Ailes, a media expert brought in from Washington by Ronald and George Jr. and his father's 1988 election consultant.

this time

So little George simply left his father's protection and completely broke away from the re-election team that would begin soon. Roger Ailes was his adviser in preparing for his political career. This time I came to New York to campaign for the election, which was like using a sledgehammer to crack walnuts.

"You mean?" Ronald heard the implication of Roger Ailes' words.

"Yes, New York State is now controlled from top to bottom by the Donkey Party. It is difficult for the state Senate alone to stop them from redistricting according to their own wishes. Instead of waiting, it is better to take the initiative..." Roger Ailes said in A map spanning Staten Island and Lower Manhattan was found on Representative Susan's campaign banner and handed to Ronald.

"Huh? Do we have any suitable candidates on Staten Island?" Ronald looked at little Douglas.

"Molinari has an assistant who is also of Italian origin. In addition, there is also a small amount of printing

"You take a look and decide. I believe in your vision. New York is becoming more diverse, which seems to be a trend that is difficult to stop."

Little Douglas smiled and nodded, he understood what Ronald meant. Anyway, in the Staten Island election, they are very sure to select the right candidate. After redistricting, they might as well let Representative Susan go to Manhattan to try. And the old Molinari became the chief executive of Staten Island, and the congressman was from his family, which was not a good thing. That one has a bit of a mark

But this will only happen two years later. Now it's just the two rich people who are getting ready.

…

"This is Mr. Xu Ligong, who is responsible for the investment of the Information Bureau. James Shams will be the designated producer for Daydream..."

Ang Lee's new film "Pushing Hand" has begun preparations. He also quit the crew of "Other People's Money" and started busy with his own affairs.

This time in New York, he happened to bring the producers representing both parties' investments to report on the many preparations for the new film.

"Do all these actors need to be hired from your hometown and Xiangjiang? In fact, there are many Chinese actors in America who can act."

James Shamus raised some questions about Xu Ligong, who has now very much stepped into the role of producer.

"Director Song's instructions cannot be used by... people."

"snort……"

Joint venture filming is so troublesome, and it is difficult for both parties to reach consensus on many messy things. This movie is mainly in Chinese dialogue, so it will definitely need the box office market and video tape market there. Director Song invested in the movie with selfish motives, hoping to win awards to embellish his political achievements.

Many Chinese actors in America have their hearts set on the other side, or have come from the other side. Therefore, Xu Ligong, who represented the investors, insisted that actors from his hometown and Hong Kong be used.

However, the supporting cast and the behind-the-scenes staff have nothing to do with it. They are not eye-catching anyway. As long as there are Chinese faces, the crew will be recruited. For a time, "Push Hands" became a big gathering of Chinese-Americans who hang out in Hollywood and Broadway. No matter what your origin, what your attitude is, whether it is filmed by Chinese-Americans, or the story of Chinese-Americans in America, this alone can make them willing to serve.

Since the end of World War II, Hollywood has not produced stories about Chinese Americans for many years. These Chinese actors don't care about remuneration. As long as they can contribute to the film, let this new director, who has a master's degree at New York University and works in the company of a big Hollywood director, make his debut. How many Chinese people can he support in the future?

Compared with them, the petty thinking of some producers seems very narrow-minded.

Ronald didn't want to judge such a troublesome matter, so he told them directly that the person had to be approved by Ang Lee. James Shams negotiated the price for the fee, and Ang Lee signed the check. Finally, the details of the expenditure were faxed to Ang Lee's hometown for Xu Ligong to review.

"Well, I don't know how Uncle Lang is now. I met him ten years ago. At that time, he was suitable for the role..." ang lee

"You can ask him to fly to audition. It will count only if you see him in person." Ronald thought to himself, you are the director now, and the crew will listen to you. This movie is so important to the Chinese here, and they are willing to take a transatlantic plane to audition.

Ang Lee woke up from a dream. He was not used to the role of the boss, but he immediately felt it. He also booked a flight for Wang Lai in Hong Kong. If the audition is suitable, they will shoot. If not, just treat it as a trip to the United States.

Seeing that the two elderly protagonists auditioned as he expected, Xu Ligong turned around and went out to call Director Song to report.

"The male lead's son and daughter-in-law are a bit troublesome, take a look." As a director, Ang Lee attaches great importance to his debut work, and he hopes that all the castings are perfect.

Lao Zhu, played by Lang Xiong, came to America to see his son, but his daughter-in-law is a foreigner. Although this foreign daughter-in-law still respects him, the cultural gap still causes problems for them.

Lao Zhu felt that his son did not respect him, and finally ran away from home and went to a Chinese restaurant to wash dishes. He was bullied to the extreme by the restaurant owner. Later, he used the unique skills of Tai Chi Push Hands, and even NYPD could not do anything to him when he fought against many people.

For this kind of cultural conflict scene, the most important thing is that the actor should make the audience look like the character at first glance. Ang Lee himself was not sure, so he still had to let Ronald check it.

After Xu Liguo left, Ang Lee took out the candidate he had chosen to play the son.

"Huh? Why does this person look familiar? Has he acted in Hollywood movies before?" Ronald felt familiar as soon as he saw the audition photo of this fair-faced young man. The actor is very handsome, with the temperament of a classical Chinese handsome man. The best thing is that he has a similar face shape and facial features to the actor Lang Xiong who plays Lao Zhu.

"No, this is an actor from the mainland, named Wang Bozhao, who has never acted in Hollywood." Ang Lee waved his hands repeatedly. This is the problem. The guidance money from the News Bureau comes at a price, that is, the main roles cannot be played by actors from there.

"What do you think?" Ronald doesn't care about these. If Xu Ligong is not satisfied and withdraws his investment, then I will take care of it. I will go back to the mainland to find connections and see if it can be released. The key is whether Ang Lee is satisfied with him.

"This is from an interview with Chinese elites published in a Chinese magazine. His name is Wang Bozhao. I have auditioned for the role. He is the best and looks like him."

"Then just use him... Don't worry about the budget." Ronald didn't care. He suddenly thought of something. In Hollywood, if you don't want to sign your name, you can use a pseudonym to shoot. Anyway, the News Bureau doesn't care so much about this kind of thing. It's over if you change the name and everyone knows it.

"Ask him if he is willing to change his name to act." Ronald turned over the audition photo. He must have seen this guy somewhere.

On the resume on the back of the audition photo, there is no experience in Hollywood, but he has filmed several movies in the mainland, including Princess Wencheng, which are all important movies. It seems that his acting skills are good.

"Journey to the West", there is another line in the resume that says the TV series he participated in. Ronald looked at the name and felt it was a bit strange. Maybe it is because the atmosphere in Hollywood looks down on the acting skills of actors who film TV series, and this actor named Wang Bozhao also put this experience at the end.

"shxt!" Ronald suddenly reacted. Isn't this the "Journey to the West" that the TV station was broadcasting when he lived in Xujiahui Film Studio? No wonder he looks familiar. This person also played a dragon prince or something.

"Then let's go with him. I've seen the TV series he acted in. His level is not bad."

With Ronald's guarantee, ang lee has more confidence in himself, "This is the candidate for the foreign wife, take a look."

"Why don't they look good..." Ronald picked up the stack of audition photos and muttered to himself. Because it is a white character who speaks English, the range of choices is much wider.

But I don't know why, maybe Ang Lee's aesthetics are a little different from those of white people. In Ronald's opinion, the actors he chose are not good-looking enough and it is impossible for them to play the leading role in a movie.

"I like this one more. The acting is good and there is no discrimination against Chinese people. I am not saying that white people will discriminate against Chinese people, but there are always some. It's better to choose someone with an open attitude when cooperating." Ang Lee hurriedly explained to Ronald so that he would not be unhappy. He frowned when he looked at him.

Oh, Ang Lee gave himself a slap in the face in his heart. It's not good to say that white people discriminate.

"Your casting is not up to standard, Ang. You have to choose a beautiful one. If not, the audience will not buy tickets."

Ronald was not satisfied with the actor named Sneider. He was pretty good-looking among ordinary people, but when the audience went to the cinema, you gave them this? It definitely won't work.

"Huh? But when we Chinese come to America, we generally can't marry very beautiful white people. I have already beautified this level of beauty. If it is too beautiful, it will not be realistic." Ang Lee explained Ichiban.

"I'll tell you a secret..." Ronald made a low expression, approached Ang Lee, and then said in his ear, "Do you know what is the most important thing about being a director in Hollywood?"

"Huh?" Ang Lee was at a loss. Hearing what Ronald said, he thought it was a magic secret book, so he quickly cheered up and paid attention.

"It's all about making money! Make money every time so you can make the movies you want to make, however you want to make them."

"This..." Ang Lee didn't expect the secret book to be this, and suddenly smiled bitterly.

"In your movie, the only character that white people can identify with is the foreign daughter-in-law. So not only do you have to find the most beautiful actress, but you also have to add scenes to her. Otherwise, what will the American audience come to see?"

"Oh..." Ang Lee quickly wrote down what Ronald said. When the time comes, he will find James Shams and add a few scenes for the foreign wife in the script.

"Also, did you know? Almost everyone will beautify their appearance. When people look in the mirror, they will automatically filter out the unsightly parts. So you don't have to worry about the audience disapproving of foreign wives. In their eyes, I'm afraid I think this is very normal.”

"But we Chinese in the United States all know that this is impossible."

"Hey, couldn't you add some background to Wang Bozhao's character? He's a computer engineer, right? Let him take stock options in the company and become a millionaire in a few years. What white beauty wouldn't like to marry such a person? Besides, Chinese people in the United States probably also want to marry a beautiful wife. Your ideas are from the perspective of the creator, and the audience likes beautiful women.”

"That's true..." Ang Lee was convinced by Ronald. In fact, if Ronald forcefully chooses a beautiful woman, he can't help it. This way, he can accept it by convincing people with reason.

"I'll go to Richard and ask him to recommend some beautiful actresses." Ang Lee figured it out and decided to find a beautiful white man to play the role of the foreign wife.

"Ahem, what about that? Just go and make a phone call and tell me that this is the role I recommend..."

Ronald wrote Helen Slater's phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Ang Lee. Anyway, this movie is about cultural integration. Helen went to China to shoot a documentary in the early stage and is interested in Chinese culture. The subject matter is something he likes...

Moreover, James Shams has plans to take the film to the European film festival market. It would be nice to show it and show his face. Ronald felt that Helen Slater would definitely like this kind of recognition of her artistic ability by Europeans.

"Huh?" Ang Lee looked at the name on the note. He knew that this was a beautiful woman who had played Supergirl. Wondering if it might be too pretty?

Looking at Ronald's handwriting again, I realized that it was recommended by my boss, so I gritted my teeth and agreed.

…

"Uh-huh...little Roger!"

Aunt Karen happily teased Ronald's son. There is no need for her to host this year's Christmas dinner. Her chef husband has taken over all the kitchen duties and Aunt Karen now just wants to play with little Roger.

"Your Dances with Wolves was really good. I went to the cinema to watch it twice." Donna chatted with Ronald on the side.

"Did you go with Doug?"

"I can go myself..." Donna ignored Ronald's teasing and talked a lot about how good the movie was.

"Ronnie, your phone number." Diane was calling him to answer the phone. "It's from Lawyer Lindsay."

"Hello..." Ronald picked up the receiver.

"Ronald, Ivar's Seafood Restaurant has proposed an out-of-court settlement, and they took the initiative to remove the Clam Man's advertisement."

"These people are very cunning. They have almost completed their advertisements, and now they are taking them down. They have already received the attention they deserve. Can we accept an out-of-court settlement and let them pay money?"

"Of course, but I advise you to accept the settlement. Firstly, you can show your generosity. Secondly... the owner of the restaurant was also encouraged to do this. He said that if you are willing to reconcile, he will bring down the person behind it. Bite it out.”

"I almost have an idea of ​​who is inciting them. But you are right, there is no need to kill everyone, otherwise the audience's sympathy for us being bullied will be offset. Now it is they who encourage our friends to go to the cinema to support us. Watch Dances with Wolves.”